


Of Magic and Monarchies

by teamchaosprez



Series: Of Reincarnations and Royalty [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Arranged Marriage, F/F, Forbidden Love, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Princes & Princesses, Reincarnation, Royalty, Secret Relationship, Sorceresses, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-05-15 10:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5783026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamchaosprez/pseuds/teamchaosprez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lapis, the naiad princess of the kingdom of Blue Diamond, has fallen in love with Peridot, the hybrid sorceress of the court of Yellow Diamond. Their relationship must remain hidden, and they must find a way in which they can stay together without having to worry about getting caught and potentially executed. </p><p>TUMBLR FOR QUESTIONS: teamchaosprez<br/>TRACKED TAG ON TUMBLR: of magic and monarchies</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I SAID I WAS GONNA FINISH ONE BEFORE I STARTED THIS LMAO I CAN DREAM.
> 
> Anyway. Humans don't exist in this universe. More will be explained next chapter.

The night air smelled of autumn, the ocean, and expensive perfume, and the sounds of laughter and music and nobles talking filled the night. Floating lanterns caused little puddles of light to illuminate the luscious plants of the garden, unpopulated despite the rather large party going on within the property. The very princess the event was being held for was relieved to find some peace upon entering the garden - it wasn’t that she was not enjoying herself, it just got quite exhausting to be surrounded by people she didn’t know pretending to be interested in things she didn’t know for hours on end. Perhaps she  _ was  _ just a bit miserable, actually, but it being her sixteenth birthday she wasn’t willing to think of things in a negative light - she only got presented to the neighboring kingdoms twice in her life, and the next one would be for her coronation, which she genuinely hoped would not be necessary for a long time.

It was a night in early November, but being the southernmost kingdom, the weather was not horribly bad or cold. If anything, it was a bit unnaturally warm for a night so close to the winter solstice. The princess sighed heavily as she found the spot she normally treated as a sanctuary, behind one of the largest rose bushes in the garden. Folding the poof of her dress around her, she sank into a sitting position, examining the cobalt skin of her arms for any of the scales that tended to appear when she got close to the edges of the castle’s property and would give her away as a result. Luckily, it remained pure and smooth, and her little detour to her hiding place would go unnoticed by her mother. Upon gaining the unspoken okay to relax, she reached up to pluck the silver tiara adorning her navy hair, gazing with disdain for a moment at the multiple lapis lazuli stones announcing not only her status, but her name as well. This was the tiara that her mother - Blue Diamond - had worn when she was Lapis Lazuli, and the Blue Diamond before her, and would be passed down to her daughter when she had one. It frustrated her that she did not have her own unique name, and it frustrated her that there was a plan that had her by the arm and would continue from generation to generation until the fall of the monarchy.

Lapis turned to hide the tiara in the roses, proceeding afterwards to hide her face in her hands and groan loudly. She didn’t want to look at the item that announced her royalty, nor did she want to think about the responsibilities it brought with it. For the moment, they were simple - look nice, be a beacon of light for the kingdom, attend the occasional court, sometimes go out and deliver food and blankets to the poor. But later in life, when Blue Diamond died, she would become queen, and the weight of the kingdom’s problems would rest on her shoulders. She hated it with a passion, wanted nothing to do with the politics regardless of the blue blood she held in her veins. She loved her subjects, sure, and she would take on the title of Blue Diamond with grace when she needed to and pretend it didn’t bother her until that happened, but no matter how long and how well she pretended she would never be able to move past how thoroughly she  _ did not  _ want to have to go through with everything. Fake it until you make it, she’d always told herself, but even after years of faking it she was  _ not  _ making it.

She longed to run to the ocean and swim far, far beneath the tides, return to where her people had come from and never have to come back out. Or at least, not come back out until she was older and wiser and ready to face her destiny. But that was the  _ childish _ thing to do, and the entire purpose of this party was to mark her as a woman, declare her the one that would inherit her ancestors’ reign and legacy. Sixteen was a bit young for that, in her humble opinion, but there was nothing much she could do about it.

Lapis was startled from her thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. Caught like a deer in headlights, she could do nothing but stare with wide eyes at the direction of the source of the sound. If it was a high up member of her mother’s court, she was in  _ worlds  _ of trouble, and might not be capable of talking her way out of this one - and even if she wasn’t, not even the dark masquerade mask guarding part of her face would protect her identity and keep her from an excessive amount of bumbling and “your highness”es. Her break was over, evidently, and she would have to return to the festivities and possibly get a stern talking to from the queen. Already she dreaded it.

Luckily, however, she could tell quickly by the dress and yellow diamond symbol that the stranger wore that this person was not from her kingdom, and from the more war-oriented kingdom that belonged to Yellow Diamond, who had not arrived until  _ after  _ she was presented and the ceremony was over with (a rude gesture which Blue Diamond was sure to be passive aggressive about for a while). She was safe for the moment - she might just need to find another spot.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the stranger was the odd triangular shape of her blonde hair. Based on the light green gemstone resting against her throat, she was an important figure as well, and if she weren’t a good head shorter than Lapis, the long claws extending from her fingers and the sheer amount of black she wore might have been intimidating. She wore no masquerade mask, but black horned glasses were present around her lime eyes - and for a moment, Lapis found herself thinking that this stranger was quite pretty. The princess could tell rather easily that this was Yellow Diamond’s sorceress, chiefly due to the claws and the black clothing. Her own kingdom had no wizardry, mainly because hydrokinesis was so commonplace amongst the naiad species. Briefly, she wondered what sort of powers the other girl possessed… though she looked around the same age, and was probably still in training just as she was. It was almost a comfort to have someone around that was the same age or younger.

“I’m sorry, is this your spot?” The sorceress asked in a slightly nasally voice, glancing around the night-graced garden. “I was just looking to get away from all the people, and this is the biggest rosebush. I can just take a walk, um, I’m sorry if I startled you.” Well, at least she was polite, and it looked like they had a common wish, so… why not try to make her acquaintance? It wasn’t as if they’d ever see one another again, after all, so nothing she said tonight would reasonably bother her for very long. A sorceress was not a noble she would need to impress and pretend to be somebody else to gain the approval of, and for that reason, Lapis had absolutely nothing to lose.

So she scooted over, careful not to rub the grass too much against the sky blue fabric of her skirt, and patted the ground next to her. “This  _ is  _ my spot, but I’m willing to share if you want to relax for a little while too. It’s kind of overwhelming in there. And stuffy.” The princess offered a smile, trying not to make it look like her standard crowd-winning beam. Kind of ironic how, after so much training and so many damned lessons, acting as a normal person would now required a bit of effort.

The sorceress glanced around a couple of times, as if checking to see if anything was watching them, before easing herself to the ground beside the naiad. It looked like she truly couldn’t tell that Lapis was royalty, for which she was grateful. She just needed to avoid using her name, and perhaps she could have a brief friend for the night. And she could just tell her mother that she’d been with a member of Yellow Diamond’s court discussing the discourse between their kingdoms or something along those lines. In her eyes, it was a foolproof plan.

“What’s your name?”

“Peridot.”

Pretty name for a pretty sorceress, she thought to herself, and was surprised that she hadn’t guessed it based on the gemstone she wore. “It’s nice to meet you, Peridot.” She spoke with a small nod, purposefully avoiding using her own name.

“Nice to meet you too, I guess.” The other responded, folding her clawed hands in her lap and turning her gaze to the wide ocean before them. Silence followed, the two girls slowly getting used to and comfortable with each other’s company. It took a while for Peridot to speak once more, breaking the quiet that had once more enveloped the night. “This might be a little rude, but you seem to be a naiad of status, so what are you doing all the way out here? I thought parties like this were your forte.”

Lapis shrugged. “Too many strangers, I got overwhelmed. I would ask what you’re doing out here, but I guess sorceresses are pretty asocial - what species even  _ are  _ you, anyway?” That last question probably came out a lot ruder than she’d intended, and internally she beat herself up for it.

Peridot shrugged a little. “Being honest? I don’t even know. I’m probably a mix, though, considering I have traits from a few different ones, or I was created specifically for my job. I don’t remember anything before my apprenticeship started when I was no more than three.”

“I guess we’ve both kind of been molded into knowing nothing but our current situations, then.” Lapis responded, barely remembering to keep herself vague. “The organization is pretty annoying. I envy those that can make their own choices in life - it doesn’t seem very fair to push expectations for a child’s life on them when they’re just babes.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing. At least we know what to expect for the future. I can’t imagine the fear that would come with not knowing.” Peridot responded, turning her head to rest that tired lime gaze on the princess. Lapis wondered if, somehow, without being told, the sorceress had figured out who she was. Given her slip-up and the way she behaved, she didn’t doubt it. “I have to agree that it might be nice to have one decision, though. Just one. A very small one.”

The naiad thought on that one for a moment, studying her companion almost scrutinizingly closely. In the dim light of the floating lanterns, Peridot was, in fact, rather beautiful, and for once in her life Lapis had someone to whom she could relate, someone who, to some extent, understood the struggles that came with having one’s entire life planned out and mapped before them. Being a sorceress, she had to have been intelligent. And, all things considered, she was never going to see this girl again. So what was the harm in making a single, stupid little choice that only a lonely and stressed out sixteen year old could make?

“Perhaps you could make the decision to kiss me.”

The way the sorceress spluttered, cheeks heating up a light cyan color, was almost amusing and certainly endearing. “What? I couldn’t kiss a noble, much less someone of Blue Diamond’s kingdom. It’s… it’s the biggest faux pas anyone could ever pull. I could be executed, and so could you.”

“Unless you plan to tell anyone, I don’t think we would be discovered.” Lapis huffed a little, turning to watch the ocean instead of her companion and trying to pretend that her face was turning a light gold. “But alright. I won’t make you. Kind of ridiculous for a princess to be asking a member of an opposing court to kiss her, anyway.”

If Peridot was surprised at her identity, she didn’t show it. There were several moments of silence, in which the sorceress was apparently considering her options, before Lapis felt clawed fingers lightly grab under her chin and turn her face towards the sorceress. Peridot’s hands drifted downwards to her shoulders once they were making eye contact - and Lapis was well aware that their faces were very, almost unbearably close.

The kiss was sweet, and soft; brief, and stolen.

The moment was the one in which Lapis would later swear she fell in love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Long before our creation, the most intelligent creatures on the planet were horrid creatures who killed one another over things as menial as skin color or sexuality, who mistreated one another compulsively and put together horrifying education systems, who skimmed over parts of history that they didn’t want to show their children for petty reasons, who would take parts of each other for selfish gain and for power trips, who were intelligent but abused this intelligence to great levels to destroy the lives of their own people."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay but thinking up of mythology is actually really fun

“Long before our creation, the most intelligent creatures on the planet were horrid creatures who killed one another over things as menial as skin color or sexuality, who mistreated one another compulsively and put together horrifying education systems, who skimmed over parts of history that they didn’t want to show their children for petty reasons, who would take parts of each other for selfish gain and for power trips, who were intelligent but abused this intelligence to great levels to destroy the lives of their own people. These creatures were called ‘humans,’ and they occupied the Earth until about two million years ago - a great disease spread across the entire world and killed everyone that was unlucky enough to contract it. Populations were devastated. Billions were killed. Not a single human being survived, and bit by bit the planet took back dominance, turned great cities into ruins, fixed herself and repaired all damage done by the lives she had once supported. Great cities and elaborate temples became nothing but rocks and rubble, technology wore down and eventually stopped working altogether, whatever surviving animals evolved and returned to the wild and feral stages that they might have been in had the humans never domesticated them.

“And then, millions of years after the humans ran extinct, Earth decided that it was time to give life again - but this time she would keep her creatures tied to herself in order to prevent the planet from being damaged. These creatures would be placed in charge of rebuilding their own societies and protecting the Earth from any further harm, and those of higher social status and their servants would be named after gemstones, the beautiful gifts from Earth seconded only by life itself.”

_ I’ll have to look through the whole creation thing and find evidence of something more scientific and less divine,  _ Peridot thought to herself, using a quill pen to mark the place in the ancient text and dog-earing the page. Under most circumstances she would feel worse about marking up a tome that had been in existence for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, but there were at least three older copies in the trunk belonging to the sorceress that held the title before her.

“To the north were celestial beings, Earth having been inspired by the beauty of the stars far above - angels, swan maidens, valkyrie, and the asteriae, nymphs of the sky who ruled over the citizens of the northernmost kingdom. They were ruled by White Diamond, the asteriae queen, whose daughter was named Ivory and would eventually take the kingdom. The names of the queen and the princess remain passed through the matriarchy to this day.”

_ So this is why they’re so uptight,  _ Peridot mentally commented once more - she’d been to the northern kingdom once, more than ten years ago when she was still Olivine, in order to watch the current Ivory be announced as heiress to White Diamond. The one thing she could remember was how everyone there seemed to be very, very,  _ exceedingly  _ stuck up, believing they were superior. The former Peridot had advised her to just stay quiet and stick with her, which was probably pretty good advice considering how quick tempered and easily annoyed she had been and still was.

“To the east were beings inspired by the wood and mountains - elves, dwarves, yetis, fairies, owlmen, and dryads, nymphs of the wood who ruled over the citizens of the kingdom to the east. Similarly to the northern kingdom, they were ruled by Pink Diamond, a great and kind dryad, and her daughter Rose Quartz; these names are still used through the matriarchy.”

Peridot had, admittedly, never been to the kingdom at the base of the mountains, but she had met Pink Diamond’s sorceress Morganite, the princess Rose Quartz, and the princess’ son Steven on a few occasions. If the entire kingdom was as sickeningly sweet, naive, and kind as those three had been, it was a wonder they hadn’t been overthrown or exiled by now. Perhaps it was a good thing for some that these myths had lasted so long.

“To the west were beings inspired by the harsh sands that make up the desert on the far side of their territory - basilisks, sphinxes, lamias, and desert nymphs, who maintain rule over the people of the landscape to this day. Yellow Diamond was the desert nymph who fought for control of the unruly peoples, and kept control of the area with strict power and her daughter Jasper just beneath her.”

Maybe it was a bit frustrating that her own kingdom was written about to be a bunch of unruly brutes, but really, it wasn’t that far from the truth. The queen got antsy when she wasn’t causing some sort of pain to someone - not that she wasn’t a  _ good  _ ruler, just a very… violent one. She didn’t have a biological child, nor did she want to have to deal with the hassle and pain of pregnancy and childbirth, and so one of her strongest soldiers had inherited the name of Jasper instead. But Peridot was fine with it; it wasn’t as though anything affected her, and there had never been a false accusation; not to mention there was nobody else that could take on her role, considering she hadn’t been given a child to name Olivine and teach the ways of sorcery yet. She was  _ important  _ to the kingdom, and she would not be punished all that harshly at least until she’d trained an apprentice.

Unless she did something really illegal, which was part of the reason she paused before moving on to the next paragraph.

“And finally, in the south at the coast, creatures who could control the water and knew their way around liquid well were created - mermaids, silkies, sirens, kelpies, and naiads, the nymphs of the depths that could tame the sea that remain in control. Blue Diamond was their leader due to her tendency to prioritize culture above all else, and her daughter Lapis Lazuli inherited the name, which is - as with the other kingdoms - still passed down in her matriarchy.”

Peridot knew. She knew the southern kingdom almost as well as she knew her own, what with all the reading she had done.

Why?

She wanted to impress her lover.

It had been three years since she was fifteen and snuck a kiss in the garden of Blue Diamond’s kingdom, a kiss with the princess of the kingdom with which tensions were high thanks to her queen’s very late arrival to that very party. It had been three years since she hastily fell in love with Lapis Lazuli, three years of sneaking out while Blue Diamond was busy and Peridot could claim she had some errands to run in order to meet up in the sparse forest that separated their kingdoms.

Three years since they met, and if anything, the sorceress was even more enamored with the foreign princess. At first, it hadn’t scared her very much, because she was young and reckless and logic convinced her that their feelings for one another would fade within months, that maybe it was just an addiction to breaking the rules and the adrenaline that went with it that kept them seeing each other. But by the time one year had passed, Peridot found herself longing for the impossible, for a future in which they could be together without having to sneak around behind their rulers’ backs. By the time two had passed, Lapis had confessed that she had felt that way since the second time they saw each other.

And by now, the longing had become almost a  _ need,  _ and said need became hopelessness because Lapis was nineteen now, and twenty was the age at which a suitor was required for every princess in every kingdom so that an heiress could be born by twenty five and the risk for a queen needing to worry about raising a child while running her politics was lowered. And said suitor needed to be either a royal or a very high ranking soldier, neither of which Peridot held the title of.

There was no feasible way that the two of them could end up together, no feasible way that extending their hidden relationship could end in anything but a deeper heartache than ending it now would be able to create. Logically, it didn’t make sense… but this was love, emotions, hell, maybe even  _ destiny,  _ and no logic could be applied to that. Maybe it scared her, just a little, because sorcery and magic was all sourced in heavy logic and planning out what, exactly, your spell would do to whatever you were casting it upon. Dealing with things that  _ weren’t  _ logic was an entirely new territory to her, worlds away from the way she had been raised and everything she knew.

She was afraid of it, yes, but part of her also liked it. Maybe because it was something new to figure out, and maybe because being around Lapis made Peridot’s heart thud like a drum in her chest and made butterflies scamper around in her stomach and made time simultaneously slow down and speed up. Made her feel  _ wanted.  _ Made her feel  _ welcome. _

It was a little ironic to think that when she was fifteen and had been on her way to Blue Diamond’s kingdom with the rest of Yellow Diamond’s court, she didn’t believe in love, only infatuation and intense sexual attraction. Oh, stars, how wrong she’d been, and she almost wished she could go back in time and tell her smaller self that when she was eighteen she’d be so, so in love. Though perhaps that would ruin her surprise, and take away half the fun - wouldn’t it?

Peridot quickly slammed shut the book she had open, which triggered a sneeze thanks to the dust that assaulted her face as a result of that. A glance at the clock hanging above her bed, built by the previous sorceress, told her that it was nearing on noon… and it was midweek, which meant that Lapis would be in the woods waiting for her soon. Blue Diamond held court in midweek and the weekends, and that was typically the only time that her princess could sneak away. The green skinned caster had memorized the patterns of the southern kingdom rather obsessively at the beginning of their secret relationship, and so it was almost instinct by now to collect her cloak and leave the small shack she lived in at the edge of Yellow Diamond’s castle’s extremely small garden. A simple teleportation spell would bring her to the edge of the woods, and from there it was just a quarter mile’s walk to the border that separated the two kingdoms. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a day in which a small group of soldiers stood guard over the gates that would let her into the village. There were three of them - two sphynx and a lamia. She shivered a little. She didn’t care much for how quickly either species could kill her.

“I have an errand to run in the woods. I need to collect mint leaves.” She announced as soon as she reached them - mint leaves were rather easy to harvest and available on her way out, so it would be simple to give evidence if pressed for it. She was the only member of this court that ever stepped food in the forested area, after all, considering that most preferred the safe heat and sand of the desert.

“There seems to be a pattern in which you have errands in the woods, Peridot.” A sphynx responded in a low purr, examining her with amber eyes that reminded her all too much of Jasper.

“My supplies only last for so long. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think the queen would be very happy with you for preventing me from getting things I need for her potions. If she happens to be crabby, then it may end with… well, I assume you know.”

A glance was shared, and the three half-human creatures stepped aside.

Ha. Suckers.

The teleportation was easy with how much practice she had, and she knew her path like the back of her clawed hands because of how often she treaded it. There was a certain peace in the woods as she walked through the trees, a calming aspect to how the breeze caused the leaves to ruffle together and there was silence except for the chirping of birds or occasional scurrying of a small mammal. If she weren’t so eager to arrive to what awaited her, she might have taken her time - but the sightseeing and relaxing would have to wait until it was time to go back home, because the excitement of getting to see Lapis caused her to walk with haste. 

Their meadow was silent and empty when she reached it, and that was how she knew she’d beat Lapis to the cut - normally, when the princess arrived first, she stayed in the middle of the long grass and awaited Peridot’s arrival there despite sticking out like a sore thumb with her bright blue clothing and navy hair in a sea of green.

And in this case, arriving first was a good thing, because it gave Peridot a small amount of time to sit down and think of a way to really impress her princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miiiiiiiiight be a little obsessed with this au and this fic is gonna be pretty short so i. might've thought of a way to write a prequel about that plague. lapidot included. if i'm satisfied w the popularity of this fic when it's done i'll write it. or maybe i'll write it anyway. because i love this au.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis and Peridot meet in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm really sorry this took a while. Here, have some cute nerds to make up for the delay.

As a royal, fraternizing with someone from one of the other kingdoms was highly inappropriate and even more illegal. Having a love affair with someone of said kingdom’s court was even worse. All things considered, Lapis Lazuli should have been ashamed of herself for sneaking around to meet with Peridot, or at the very least afraid of the punishment that would come with getting caught. If her mother stretched her neck out for her, then she could lose all hopes of inheriting the kingdom one day, and would instead be shamed by everyone and watch as her mental health dropped into the negatives and her reputation was tarnished. If she didn’t, well… both Lapis and her lover would be executed.

But while Lapis was not stupid by a long shot, she was also very young, and very willing to let her emotions take charge. At times, she could think of herself as invincible, due to her bloodline and privileges and the common sense that only those who have not become jaded possess. She didn’t think that anything bad could come out of something as sweet and innocent as  _ loving _ someone - she was nineteen and Peridot eighteen, both of them at the stage where they were not considered mature enough to be women but not naive enough to be children either. Not only that, but Blue Diamond did not have any other daughters - it would be foolish for Lapis to be punished too harshly!

It was not difficult to sneak out of the palace. While Blue Diamond was holding court, all of the guards would be stationed where they could easily protect the queen should a townsperson be angry and vengeful. Lapis herself did not have a personal guard - she was beloved by all or most in the southern kingdom, and nobody thought anyone would dare to harm her. The only time she ever felt any remorse for her actions was when she was walking among the commoners to the woods - how trusting they all were, assuming that she was off to do something childish or mischievous. How unaware that she was doing something considered traitorous by most. She felt bad for abusing their trust, as selfish as she could be sometimes. They probably would not react well to learning of her affair.

“Where are you going today, Highness?” A woman holding the hands of two children asked her, smiling brightly. “Off to cause trouble, I assume.”

Lapis returned the smile as best she could, though a bit impatient - she was late, and she hadn’t time to mill around talking to commoners and letting herself feel guilty. “I would love to tell you, but it’s a secret for now! I’m sure you’ll hear of it later, though.” An impish smile was given as she stopped walking - she would make sure that this conversation was short. “I  _ am _ in a bit of a hurry, however! I don’t have much time to gather what I need.” She would have to fill a sack with frogs on her way back in order to make it look like she’d been off to organize a prank. Which, admittedly, might be a good way to let some steam off next time she could sneak to the kitchen.

“Oh, of course. I apologize.” The woman smiled kindly, patting her son’s head as he started to get a little antsy. “I know it isn’t my place, Highness, but I have concerns - you  _ will _ be a bit more responsible by the time you become queen, won’t you? I apologize if I’m a bit out of line--”

“It’s fine.” The princess responded dismissively, waving her hand a bit. “Your concern is completely understandable. I promise you, I won’t be so mischievous in the future. For now, though, I would prefer to cause trouble while I still can.” She carefully ruffled the boy’s hair, earning a giggle. “Pranks should be left to those young enough to organize them, after all.”

The woman nodded and bowed slightly, being unable to curtsy with her children holding onto her hands. “Of course. I suppose I’ll leave you to it, then! I need to take Asriel and Chara to school - my, we must be late by now.”

“If the teachers give you trouble, just let me know. I’ll tell them that you were talking to me.” She gave a slight curtsy as she turned and rushed into the woods.

She sighed, exhausted, as soon as she was under the cover of the trees. Lapis found nothing more tiring than having to stop and converse with villagers while she was on the way to the meadow. She didn’t like having to fool people, especially those with children who she knew were her future. It was best to let them all believe that she was still in her little pranking phase, to not make it known that she was running around behind their backs.

As she jogged down the path that she now knew well, though, she could forget quite easily about the feelings of guilt and remorse, instead beginning to feel excited. It didn’t matter that they had done this at least once weekly for three years - every time felt new, felt fresh. Perhaps because of the adrenaline, or perhaps because of her feelings that were only strengthening with time. She didn’t know, and didn’t care to think on it; she didn’t care to think at all for the moment.

The sight of the clearing was enough to summon a grin onto her face. For a while, she could just drop being ‘the princess’ and begin being just ‘Lapis,’ and she could feel loved for just an hour or so. The young royal quickly picked up her pace so that she was jogging, hiking up her long skirt a bit so that it would not snag on a branch and either trip her up or tear - she would be in big trouble if she returned to the castle later any different from the way she had left; to be caught because of her own carelessness would be not only devastating but also humiliating.

“I’m here!” She announced as she reached the meadow, dashing to the middle of the grassy area and glancing around in anticipation. Her grin turned into a frown as soon as she saw that the meadow was empty - she was late, and her lover was one of the most punctual people she knew, with her impeccable sense of time and anxiety riddled need to always be on time. There was no way that Peridot could be late, and there was no way she would have left without seeing her so soon - it had only been five minutes past their usual meeting time, she was sure… unless her sense of time was off and it had actually been an hour.

“Peridot, I can’t be  _ that _ late. I know you’re here.” Lapis sighed heavily, pretending to be annoyed when she was actually beginning to become a bit worried. She didn’t  _ know _ she was there, but she  _ hoped _ she was. Three years since their first introduction, and never once had either of them missed a day in which they were to meet up. She swallowed dryly, beginning to walk around and check the edge of the trees, gnawing on her lower lip. “Come on, hiding from me isn’t funny.”

If she  _ had _ been later than she thought, and if this  _ was _ doomed to be the first time that they missed a meeting… then their pattern would be broken, they wouldn’t know when to find each other, they might fall out of contact altogether and never see or hear from each other again. Lapis wasn’t ready for that kind of heartbreak, and didn’t know if she ever would be. It would be easier to fight and break up than to just fall apart and stop talking. She would spend the rest of her life hating herself…

The feeling of hands on her shoulders made her tense up and caused cold panic to jump into her throat. She froze as though her blood had stilled, heart beating as fast a hummingbird’s wings and blue eyes wide - there was no way she could defend herself at the moment, she wasn’t an adept fighter and there was no saltwater nearby that she could bend to her will…

“Hello, princess.”

Lapis relaxed immediately at the familiar voice, sighing heavily and willing her heartbeat to slow down. She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her relief under frustration and annoyance. “Hello, sorceress.” She replied, shrugging off the clawed hands holding her shoulders hostage so she could turn around and pull her lover into an embrace. “I was worried. Please don’t ever do that to me again.”

“Apologies. I thought you might like to see my new invisibility spell.” Peridot responded, but based on the look on her face Lapis could tell that she  _ genuinely _ felt bad… that quelled whatever anger she’d held pretty easily. She sighed heavily and shifted a bit so that she could peck a small kiss on the other’s cheek, the look of remorse quickly turning into a flustered expression, green skin turning a bit teal in a slight blush.

“It’s alright. It was pretty impressive. I couldn’t even tell you were there.” Lapis responded, a smile appearing on her face. “I’m mostly surprised that you could be so quiet. You haven’t seemed to be much of one for stealth in the time I’ve known you.”

Peridot had gotten a bit of a growth spurt since she was fifteen, now standing a little less than a foot taller than Lapis herself. The princess often jokingly accused her lover of wearing stilts, which she sometimes made a big show of searching for - and sometimes it became a genuine suspicion due to the other’s defensive reaction to her accusations.

Still, the height difference allowed Lapis  to easily rest her head on Peridot’s chest and sigh contentedly, closing her eyes. Thin arms rested around her comfortably, holding her close. Warmth settled in Lapis’ chest, an affection and love that none but the sorceress had managed to get out of her. It quelled any fear of the unknown, any fear from the future, and made her feel that all was possible for just a few minutes. There was no word for it that she knew other than  _ love. _

“I have my ways.” Peridot finally responded, one clawed hand carefully reaching to stroke navy blue hair. It was a calming gesture, one that made Lapis ever so slightly more cuddly than she had been prior. “Besides, I kind of need to be stealthy to sneak behind Yellow Diamond’s back like this. More than once I’ve snuck out while she was looking for me and then had to avoid getting reprimanded for it. The ability to remain silent comes with the mission.”

Unfortunately, there was no hiding from the pang of guilt that hit Lapis like a stab through her heart. The princess lifted her head from her lover’s bosom and stepped backwards slightly, though she kept a hold on the other’s elbows as though afraid that someone would come and take her away. A childish fear, maybe, but given the circumstances it was most likely appropriate. Negative outcomes immediately plagued the royal’s mind - what might have happened if Peridot was still the clumsy girl she had met in a garden party three years ago? What if Yellow Diamond had found her before her temper ran its course and faded away?

“Peri, you don’t need to come if it endangers you.” She spoke slowly, carefully, trying to swallow down the bile in her throat. “What if somebody were to follow you here?”

“Lapis, I will never miss a meeting. Not for anything.” The sorceress responded, perhaps in a bit of a snippish tone. “Nobody followed me, and nobody has ever followed me - nor will anyone  _ ever _ follow me. As I said before, I’ve mastered the skill of stealth, and I’ve never been anything but loyal, so everyone in the kingdom trusts me. They’ve no reason to suspect I’ve been sneaking around to give the naiad princess the affection she so deserves.”

Lapis wasn’t all that convinced, but she nodded uncertainly anyway.

Peridot seemed to take note of that. “Hey, let’s not spoil our time with worrying, okay? That can be saved for later, when it matters. For now…” She stepped back all the way and bowed, offering her hand. “Would you care to dance with me, Highness?”

The royal giggled and rolled her eyes, but curtsied and took the offered extremity anyway. “Why, sorceress, I would love to.”

Perhaps the worrying  _ could _ be saved for later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis eavesdrops and isn't very pleased with what she hears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I feel bad for making Lapis go through things.

Lapis hurried back into the palace’s courtyard; with a little grimace, she realized that the meeting had carried past how long they usually were. Just as she feared, the castle was silent when she entered, the sounds of the kingdom’s citizens socializing while waiting for their turn to see the queen absent. The princess gnawed lightly on her lower lip, hoping that she could just sneak to her room silently and dodge any questions. Her journeying out of the palace would probably be forgotten about it she didn’t get caught re-entering and nobody questioned her about it, but if somebody decided to enquire where she had been she would probably be found out. She didn’t have a story thought up that would keep her from getting in any sort of trouble, and when she had to come up with something on the spot, she was awful at lying.

Luckily for her, the halls were empty; it might have been a little unsettling considering the high ceiling and dim lighting and the way that the soft smacking of her bare feet against the polished marble floors echoed up and down in the air. Most of the time, there were at least servants bustling around and gossiping, and Lapis wasn’t sure whether to be thankful for the vacancy or seriously concerned. Lifting her dress a little so she wouldn’t get tripped up, the young royal began walking a little faster; a habit left over from when she was small and would sneak out to explore the castle she called home, pretending there were ghosts chasing her in the dead of night.

She knew that marble would give way to a long rug before her footsteps were muffled; her home was memorized in the back of her mind, as she had lived there since she was born and she would probably stay there until the day she died. Sometimes that fact was comforting, and sometimes it made her feel trapped - at the moment, it was a strange combination of both.

Once she climbed up the first grand staircase and reached the hall where the bedrooms of the royal family and closest servants sat, she released a relieved sigh; she was in the home stretch, and it was extremely unlikely for her to get caught while in this hall. Her quarters were just past those of her mother, and the queen was normally alone and asleep when she was in the room at all. Lapis let go of her dress and allowed the fabric to fall back to the floor, slowing her pace to a more relaxed one.

The sound of Blue Diamond’s voice was what urged her to stop walking. A glance to the side told her that the queen was calmly sitting in a chair as one of her favorite pearl servants - everyone just called her Blue, because she had earned the monarch’s favor - assisted her in settling. Not many knew it, but Blue Diamond was nearly paralyzed below her waist, which was why she was rarely seen walking, and instead normally chose to remain in her throne or another chair.

Lapis’ decision to eavesdrop was an easy one, especially when she heard her own name spoken. Her mother was talking in a quiet and calm tone, so she needed to stand against the wall as close to the doorway as she dared in order to make out anything. She was normally fairly obedient and quiet within the confines of the castle, so daring to sacrifice another’s privacy in favor of finding things out for herself was more than a little fear inducing. She would just have to endure it for the time being.

“I don’t think she’s ready,” Blue Diamond was saying in a tone that almost seemed sad. “I know she is nearly to the legal age and we need to settle some tension, but I’m not willing to break my promise to let her choose which suitor to marry. It does not seem fair to her, or to whoever marries her, to make the decision for her a year before she actually needs to. She is my daughter, and I can’t help but feel that I have a responsibility to make life a little more fair to her.”

Lapis’ throat dried up, and she had to swallow down a lump that was beginning to form. She was going to have to marry a year early? Without any choice in who she would end up with for the rest of her life? She wasn’t ready, that much was certain - and she couldn’t help but feel dirty whenever she thought of what would have to happen after she was married. Her thoughts almost immediately turned to Peridot, and how she would take the news poorly, and how their relationship would have to be cut off sooner than expected. Every beat of the princess’ heart was now paining her, creating shockwaves of hurt.

Blue Pearl was mute, and Lapis was unable to peek in and see what the servant may have signed in response. It must have been something reasonable, though, because the next sound was a heavy sigh from Blue Diamond, who began talking again. “I know, but it just doesn’t seem right. She’s still just a child, no matter how many years she’s lived. I have been planning to spend the next year preparing her for everything… she hasn’t had much of an example to go off of, with me raising her myself.”

The pearl must have responded, because silence followed, allowing Lapis another moment to think. She was working herself up into a bit of a panic - she’d thought that she had another year to brace herself for an inevitable arranged marriage, and even then she had been promised a say in which one to choose. She didn’t want to be forced to marry sooner than she needed to - she knew that she had a responsibility to her kingdom to solidify an alliance by giving up her relationship status, but she didn’t want to have to face that responsibility so  _ soon. _ The childish thought repeating itself in her head was that it just wasn’t fair. And she supposed her internal twelve year old was right. It  _ wasn’t _ fair.

She had been aware that tensions had been growing steadily between the four kingdoms since she was a baby and her other parent - a soldier from White Diamond’s kingdom - died. They had passed under mysterious circumstances after apparently getting extremely ill, and Blue Diamond - who had been Lapis Lazuli at the time - had been accused of poisoning them because she was only nineteen and wanted to run the affairs on her own. Lapis’ grandmother had taken the blame and been executed, leaving her daughter to become the youngest Blue Diamond in the kingdom’s history, but there were still whispers being passed around of a possible coup d’etat to remove power from the current monarchies and their apparently twisted system. Matters were only made worse by the other queens refusing to cooperate and come up with a peace treaty with the exception of Pink Diamond. The easternmost kingdom was the south’s only secure ally, and would be their only help in the case of a rebellion… and being the monarchy with the smallest army of the four, that wasn’t much of a comfort. It certainly wasn’t helped any by Yellow Diamond’s blatant disrespect of her blue counterpart and refusal to even come on time to a social event meant to give the courts a reason to be civil and friendly with one another.

They needed at least one other allied kingdom in order for peace and quick quieting to be ensured, and apparently Lapis was the only hope for that. It made her feel sick to know that she was going to be used as a bargaining chip, even if the ends justified the means. The princess had to resist the urge to thud against the wall and slide to the floor with her head in her hands, choosing instead to power her way through the dizziness and continue eavesdropping. She had a right to know what was going on.

“I don’t want to marry Lapis off to that _brute_ Yellow Diamond calls her heiress. I don’t care if she’s the most military minded, I will not stand to have my daughter be at risk of abuse regardless of the circumstances.” Blue Diamond spoke in a bit of a snippish tone, and the princess was a bit relieved that at least part of her mental and physical health was being considered. “I’m sure White Diamond will agree to send her second daughter to marry Lapis… Petalite, wasn’t it? That will ease any bitterness left from when Smokey Quartz died, and three out of four of the kingdoms will be united. That might be enough.”

Lapis had met Petalite before, and the idea of marrying her made her grimace. The second daughter of White Diamond wasn’t  _ cruel, _ but she was certainly snobby, and refused to touch anything that she saw as lesser than she. She would rather marry her than Jasper, certainly, but that didn’t mean the idea was a particularly attractive one. She had to bite down the urge to burst into the room and try and fight her mother for her own freedom to marry who she wanted, but knew she would be endangered.

“I will send a letter to White Diamond now asking her to meet me in one week’s time. Could you fetch me a parchment and quill?”

So that was the end of the discussion. At least Lapis knew who she would be forced to marry, but she still couldn’t swallow down the bile that had formed in her throat. She felt dizzy and sick, and if any more would be said, she didn’t want to stick around to hear it. She had a week before she would have to start planning her own wedding.  _ A week. _ This would undoubtedly be the worst week of her life, dreading it all and fearing the unknown of her future.

The princess uneasily stumbled to the room that belonged to her, thankful that it was only a few feet from her mother’s door because of the overwhelming urge to collapse that had taken her over. She shut the door quietly behind her and locked the door, unwilling to talk to much of anyone. She was dreading many things - dreading her marriage, dreading her entire future, and dreading having to tell Peridot that she was set to marry somebody else.

She stumbled over to her bed and collapsed into the safe and soft haven, burying her face under several pillows and barely resisting the urge to scream into them. Lapis had never put much thought into what her future would be like - she always assumed that it would be easy to face, considering it had basically been written out for her from the moment she began forming in her mother’s womb. But as it stood, there was nothing more terrifying and more upsetting than that plan - it wasn’t any easier to handle than it would have been if her life was a blank and wide open slate.

The sun had begun to set, and yet she still did not move. She was too tired to get up and face anything, but too awake and filled with worry to fall asleep and let the day end. How quickly it had changed from being an excellent day to being the worst of her life so far - it almost gave her a bit of whiplash to think on it. All too suddenly, Lapis was filled with the need to cry and let out whatever emotion she was feeling about her fate, but she choked it down in favor of bottling it up.

She could tell that everyone else in the palace was asleep when the clock struck midnight and the castle was enveloped in darkness and silence. The only people left awake would be the two guards by the front gates of the castle - both of them water kelpies in humanoid form rather than horse - and the mermaid that kept watch of the garden to make sure nobody tried to sneak around that way. The princess could see the twinkling of the stars outside her window from where she lay, and wished for the first time since she was a child that she could just throw herself out of the castle and fly away by starlight.

Deep down, though, she felt guilty for having such a wish - her kingdom needed her, and she was set to marry the more tame of her two options. It was childish of her to want to run away from her duty just because it seemed hard… it probably wouldn’t even be that bad once she was used to the idea and her wedding day was approaching.

Even trying to tell herself this wasn’t convincing her. She was filled with dread and an unwillingness to let time pass by and carry her closer to when her life would be, essentially, over. She didn’t care much for the idea of having to grow up and release everything dear to her so quickly, especially on the same day that she had just had a meeting with her lover.

Peridot. The longing to see her and talk to her was sudden, and even startled Lapis a little. The sorceress would know how to make her feel better, at the very least. And she deserved to know what was coming before the bravery needed to tell her about the arranged marriage wore off.

Before she even knew what she was doing, the princess had risen from her bed and gone to take her travelling cloak from where she had discarded it on the ground. She was still wearing her dress from earlier, having been too busy moping to even think to change into a nightgown, so there was no real need to change her clothes. She decided that she would travel to the meadow and see if Peridot was there, and if she wasn’t… well, Lapis had never been to the western kingdom, and this time was as good as any. She would sneak her way into the opposing palace under the cover of night - assuming it was just as poorly guarded as her own - and figure out where in it her lover lived. Whether her plan was brave or foolish or some combination of both, even she wasn’t sure.

Lapis knew the entirety of her family’s well furnished and meticulously built castle like the back of her hand, and she was aware that there was a secret passage leading from the kitchen to the outside of the palace in the woods separating the southern and western kingdoms. It had been put there so that if the castle suddenly found itself under siege, the royal family could escape easily and unharmed and seek refuge with Yellow Diamond. For the moment, though, it was used for the princess to sneak out when it became too difficult to make it out the front gates - which wasn’t often.

The kitchen was thankfully empty, and it was almost exceedingly easy for her to get under the trap door and find her way outside. She didn’t know this path to the meadow all that well, especially under the heavy blanket of darkness that made up the night - but she wasn’t afraid, knowing that the most dangerous thing in the forest was a small group of rather antisocial and nocturnal harpies that would leave her alone as long as she didn’t bother them. And because she was only trying to get to her destination, she had no desire to provoke the only species in the four kingdoms that would kill her without an order.

So the princess thought momentarily on her current position within the forest and what direction she would need to go in to reach the meadow. Once she was determined that she had the correct way, she began to run through the woods, not caring about any damage coming to her clothing and only wanting to get to her destination as quickly as she possibly could.

It didn’t occur to her that when no one was around, she would be far more vulnerable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've gotten a pretty nice piece of fanart since the last chapter by darkautomaton, you can check it out here: http://teamchaosprez.tumblr.com/post/139358334867/darkautomaton-just-a-little-thing-i-made-after


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot eavesdrops on Yellow Diamond and Jasper, and isn't pleased with what she hears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad ideas: Completely neglecting writing Jasper for about eight months and then assuming you can just jump right back into it.

Peridot cursed quietly when she realized that she had returned to the kingdom later than she typically did - all she could do was hope that Yellow Diamond hadn’t needed her while she was gone. The sorceress was glad that she had chosen to wear a more relaxed and flat dress than the one her lover had, because it permitted her to hurry back to the castle far more quickly than a puffy garment would. Sack of mint in hand, she rushed past the gates guarded by two sphinx with little more than a small nod, making the decision to check in with the monarch to ensure that she hadn’t missed anything. Even if she hadn’t, being proactive and making sure that everything was fine would erase any possibility of getting in trouble and having her life endangered later on. This was the first time that she had messed up at all in her eighteen years of life serving the queen, so it wasn’t likely to be a harsh punishment, if any.

She knew the palace well, even if she wasn’t one of the beings that lived in it. She had been the sorceress for four years, and the apprentice her entire life before that - she had been required to run many errands through the halls of the place, and the way to the queen’s quarters was practically muscle memory; she didn’t have to think about where she was going as she pulled her dress up slightly in order to walk up the several staircases. The castle was designed like a maze, so unlike the straightforward architecture she had seen in the kingdoms of White and Blue Diamonds, and she wasn’t entirely sure if it was a stylistic choice or a way to dissuade assassins from murdering any members of the royal family in their sleep. Peridot wanted to believe that it was a little overly cautious, but honestly, with how cruel and strict the queen was, it was a wonder that no revolts had even been  _ attempted _ yet.

But, then again, almost everyone that she had met was afraid of the monarchy - and she couldn’t blame them. Maybe there  _ had _ been an attempt or two before she was born that had been quelled quietly and erased from all history. She had no way of knowing about whispers among peasants about what past the kingdom had, being a member of the court, so it wasn’t entirely unlikely that something had happened long ago and she just didn’t know about it. In fact, it was more of a possibility than a smooth history.

Tensions were high in the four kingdoms, and Peridot was painfully aware that her own had been the cause of a major amount of it in the form of just being completely  _ rude _ to the others. She didn’t particularly understand why Yellow Diamond felt the need to act like she was better than everyone else and skip out on all the events she could, especially considering that the western kingdom’s own citizens weren’t exactly fond of the monarchy to begin with - if a rebellion went down, then the other kingdoms might just side with the peasants, and Peridot dreaded to think of where she might end up if that happened. Sorceresses were generally supposed to be loyal to their queens with no exceptions, and the green being tried to keep up that image - and loyalty would get you killed in a fallen matriarchy. That was how it went in all the books she had read, anyway, and the literature in this world had a tendency to reflect the thinking process of the civilians as a whole. Especially when there was more than  _ one. _

When she reached the hall with the royalty quarters, she slowed her pace so that she was walking and gave herself a moment to pause and catch her breath. She was not an athletic young woman; she was more suited for memorization and critical thinking, and her only source of exercise was her little excursions to the meadow where she frequently met up with Lapis. Even just speed walking from the forest to the third floor of the castle was enough to get her out of breath; she could only pray that she would never have to run for her life and would just remain protected and shielded.

Once Peridot had composed herself sufficiently and lightly touched her face to ensure that she was not flushed and sweaty, she began walking down the hall with her head held high. Yellow Diamond’s bedroom was at the very end, and was one of the largest rooms in the castle; the sorceress was frequently jealous of it, considering all she had was a measly old shack with a ton of books, a casting table, a desk, a somewhat comfortable bed, and the smallest kitchen imaginable. She already had a story composed in her mind to excuse why she had not checked in earlier; she had been gathering mint in the forest, but the change from autumn to winter was causing the plant to shrink away from the outside parts of the forest and towards the more guarded and warm inner areas.

However, the sound of voices prompted her to stop.

The sorceress bit her lip and flattened herself against the wall to the side of the door. She could clearly make out her queen’s voice and that of Jasper, one of the most powerful soldiers of the western army and also Yellow Diamond’s heiress; it was nothing unusual for the monarch to seek counsel with the overly large woman, but it  _ was _ unusual for them to converse in the queen’s quarters. Clearly, they must have been trying to discuss something where none else could hear, and the part of Peridot that was overly and depressingly loyal to Yellow Diamond wanted to leave and let them do just that. But the part of her that had become more rebellious and curious in the last three years wanted to know. So she sucked in a deep breath and chose to remain and spy on the conversation.

“... desperately need to ease some of the tension with the kingdoms, and we also need an alliance or two,” Yellow Diamond was saying in a voice that was almost eerily calm. “But there’s no way in hell any of the queens will give their daughter to marry you, I’ve been too…  _ obstinate _ for that, and they won’t trust a soldier to take care of their precious princess. So what I have been thinking is that I will kidnap a princess and force her to marry you. You will have a little toy to do as you please with, and my kingdom will be back in good standing with a solid ally so long as you remain loyal.”

“I could never be anything but,” Jasper responded, and Peridot didn’t need to look to know that she was standing in an  _ infuriatingly _ noble pose with her head held high and a look on her face that would make the weak run for cover. “And I’m fine with this plan, but the question is how you will manage to get a princess. Most of them are heavily guarded at all times, being heiresses to ancient kingdoms.”

“Not Lapis Lazuli,” the queen replied, and Peridot almost fainted. “Remember that party to present her that we attended three years ago? She managed to duck away from everyone else, and she wasn’t even surrounded by guards when she wasn’t sneaking off. Blue Diamond’s kingdom has been in a time of peace for most of her life, and the entire kingdom adores her. There would be no reason to worry about the precious little princess. She’s turning twenty next year, anyway, so she’ll be needing a suitor soon enough. You will just happen to be the one she’s required to pick with her life on the line.”

Jasper grunted in response, and then there was a little bit of silence. Peridot was internally panicking already - the girl she loved with all her heart was in serious danger at the hands of the queen she had been serving since the day she was born. She swallowed down the lump that was beginning to form in the back of her throat, shakily sliding into a sitting position on the ground - what could she do to prevent this from happening? Nothing. She could do absolutely nothing without putting her own life in danger. It was either her or Lapis now, and she absolutely  _ hated _ that with every fiber of her being.

“When are we going to find an opportunity to snatch her?” The brute asked, and the sorceress wanted to be sick. She wanted to intrude, slam the door open and snap that the naiad wasn’t something that could just be  _ snatched, _ that she was a living and breathing young woman that had an entire future ahead of her and deserved so, so much better than a future with Jasper after being kidnapped and possibly tortured until her mother agreed to it. And that wasn’t just Peridot being jealous that the one she loved was going to marry someone that wasn’t her; she didn’t want Lapis to suffer more than necessary.

“Whenever we can,” the queen apparently stood up, as was clear from the way that her heels clacked with a rather final sound on the ground. “I’ll be sending spies to Blue Diamond’s kingdom soon. I will have them murder a couple of random citizens, and then have Peridot create a spell with which they can shapeshift into the forms of the deceased. They’ll take Lapis Lazuli when they can, and bring her back here. She will stay in the dungeon, and I will have to use some… persuasion.”

If Peridot hadn’t felt sick before, she certainly did now. She didn’t want to have any part of this plan, she didn’t want to have to make Yellow Diamond’s soldiers into clones of Lapis’ fallen people - she didn’t want to have anything to do with the plot that would undoubtedly ruin the young princess’ life. She had no doubt that she would have to have a hand in her torture, too, being the magical one of the court; that thought alone made her feel like breaking down right in the hall. The only thing keeping her from collapsing and bursting into tears was the fear of getting caught.

“Sounds like a good plan to me, Highness,” Jasper responded, and Peridot wanted to punch her for being such an ass-kisser. Yellow Diamond could be brutal, sure, but the sorceress desperately wanted the soldier to be  _ somewhat _ less cruel. “What will you do without an heiress, though? I’ll have to go to the southern kingdom, and that will leave you without someone to take over after your death.”

“I will make an attempt to merge the two kingdoms into one, so you will be able to rule here,” the monarch replied - and Peridot briefly wondered if she had just come up with that on the spot. “If that doesn’t work, however, I will probably appoint Peridot to the position of heiress and pick up some Pink Diamond soldier for her to marry. If you have more than one daughter, I’ll probably convince Blue Diamond to send one over to become the heiress here, kill Peridot, and take over when she’s old enough. I don’t trust that sorceress to be able to rule more than eighteen or so years. She’s politically capable and quite smart, but her mind isn’t the most… military or cruel to work out.”

The sorceress had heard enough. Now they were discussing  _ her _ future, and  _ her  _ potential death. It might have been a good idea to continue being silent and hear what Jasper had to say, but she was certain that she might have an anxiety attack if she continued to listen in any longer - so she would do what she needed to do to avoid getting in trouble, and then she would return to her shack and figure out what she could do to prevent all of this from happening. So she sucked in a deep breath and, trying not to shake too badly or appear like she was on the verge of a breakdown, knocked twice on the great door.

Silence followed for just a few seconds, and Peridot could hear Yellow Diamond telling Jasper that she was dismissed. The sorceress had to move out of the way to let the soldier pass with a glare at her that made her gulp, but she could see the queen gesture for her to enter, so that was what she did.

“My Diamond,” she spoke, curtsying and then folding her hands in a diamond shaped salute, as was the proper way to greet the yellow queen. “I apologize if you have needed me in the last hour or two, I was out gathering mint, and they were not in the space where I usually find them, so I had to do a bit more hiking than usual. I hope you understand,” in fake sheepishness, she lowered her arms to rest at her sides; she was seeing her queen in a whole new light now, and wasn’t sure if she was more infuriated with her or afraid of her. Either way, she wanted to leave as soon as she could.

“I didn’t, and you’re lucky for that,” Yellow Diamond replied, and Peridot didn’t doubt it. “I understand. The winter is coming, and that must be making the plant life act oddly. Thank you for coming to check in with me. I appreciate your initiative,” though not enough to not plot her eventual assassination when she could have overheard, apparently. “Is there anything in particular you would like to report? The forest gives in to Blue Diamond’s kingdom, I know, so I’m sure that if anything…  _ interesting _ has happened you will know about it. I do like gossip, as I’m sure you know.”

She wanted to call her out for trying to get information, but she didn’t have a death wish - which was at least half of the reason she wanted to vomit right at that moment. The other half was the reason she was willing to lie through her teeth to protect Lapis and her kingdom - anything to discourage Yellow Diamond, anything at all, would be a blessing. However, telling a complete lie would end badly for her should the queen carry through with this mission completely. “I do not go to Blue Diamond’s side of the woods, my Diamond, but occasionally I hear whispers amongst the animals,” she could actually talk to or understand animals, but hell, she was magic, “and they tell me that the kingdom’s defenses have gone up due to some recent issues with White Diamond’s armies trying to take the princess,” they would probably go up anyway soon enough, so why not try to foresee it? “Might I ask why you are so interested, my Diamond? Usually, you couldn’t care less about the affairs of the southern kingdom.”

“Oh, I’ve just been considering paying a visit to Blue Diamond to… apologize for being so late three years ago, and maybe present Jasper as a suitor. Thank you for your report, Peridot. You may leave me - it’s been quite a long day and I’m rather eager to get some sleep.”

The sorceress might have hesitated, might have stayed to ask her about some of the things she had said in the most vague way possible, but - the queen’s tone of voice was enough to make her curtsy and salute once more and get out of that room as fast as her legs could carry her. She needed to think of some way she could help, anyway - and she began brainstorming before she was even all the way down the stairs and out of the castle, trying to think of something before she was even in the garden.

She could come up with a spell to put Yellow Diamond and Jasper in a coma, but that didn’t seem like an ethical way out - and she didn’t think she was ready to run a kingdom if it did come to that. Even if it would put her in a prime position to present herself as an option for Lapis’ eventual marriage. Maybe she could introduce a way of government that was run by election and chosen by the people? Okay, that did sound like a… positive way of going about things, but it may take her more than a year to accomplish that, assuming the pressing matter of tension didn’t convince Blue Diamond to act sooner. Perhaps, then, she could come up with some way to change Yellow Diamond’s mind? No, once the monarch got her sights set on something she wanted, she would never give up - that was one of the things that both made her a good leader and made her a hell to deal with as a person.

She  _ could _ warn Lapis with very few repercussions, though. She could make sure that the southern kingdom would know what was coming - and maybe the queen there would be grateful enough for her assistance and disloyalty that  _ she  _ would become a potential suitor and the entire issue that had been the most massive damper on her relationship for the last three years could be side stepped. That  _ wasn’t _ what mattered, though - what  _ mattered _ was ensuring Lapis’ safety.

She could live without marrying her. She couldn’t, however, live with just letting her get hurt, or letting her life be ruined when she could have done something about it.

So once the sun went down and the kingdom went quiet, Peridot snuck her way out of the castle with a teleportation spell that was as subtle as she could get it, and made a run for it into the woods. She knew that Lapis probably wouldn’t be at the meadow, considering it was almost midnight and not one of their usual times to meet up - so she was going to have to make it into Blue Diamond’s kingdom and find some way inside, even if it put her in massive danger.

She didn’t care. She would do anything to make her lover safe.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The impact was unexpected and knocked Lapis to the ground, sprawled on her back and slamming her head into the hard earth with an almost startling amount of force that caused the world to go dark for just a moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the delays

The impact was unexpected and knocked Lapis to the ground, sprawled on her back and slamming her head into the hard earth with an almost startling amount of force that caused the world to go dark for just a moment. Thankfully, it didn’t take her long to regain consciousness and remember where she was, sitting up quickly enough to send her injured head reeling - there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger before her, so she assumed that she must have run into a tree in a moment of carelessness. But then again, the trees were thick enough around the meadow that it was difficult for any starlight to leak through the dense canopy above her, so the princess cautiously rose to her feet, ready for a fight - damn, she must have seriously hit her head hard, the world was reeling and she was dizzy.

A groan from just before her let her know that she was not, in fact, alone, and that she had run into a  _ person _ rather than a tree. Despite how hard it was becoming to focus, she clenched her fists, ready to fight if she really needed to - she didn’t have much physical prowess, but she would be damned if she wasn’t going to go down without kicking and screaming first.  _ Even if _ she had a concussion.

It didn’t take her long, though, to recognize the slowly rising figure - how could she  _ not,  _ with that ridiculous hair? Slightly glowing green eyes blinked open, and Lapis almost cried with relief, throwing herself forward (with a bit of difficulty balancing) to wrap her arms around Peridot with as tight of a hold as she could. The younger girl seemed to be startled for a moment before returning the embrace, and the two simply stood in the thickest part of the woods for a moment, holding each other tightly as though it would be the last time they ever saw each other and the world was crumbling around them.

“Oh, my stars, am I happy to see you,” Lapis mumbled quietly, burying her face in her lover’s shoulder. At least her speech was clear. “What are you doing out in the woods this late? It’s midnight.”

“I could ask you the same question,” Peridot responded - she seemed just as tense; what could be going on with  _ her _ that would dictate she come out in the middle of the night to see her? “Listen, Lapis, I need to warn you - Yellow Diamond, she - Jasper -,” She was beginning to stumble over her words a little, which was how the naiad could tell that she was beginning to have a bit of trouble keeping calm. A combination of worry and knowing that  _ neither _ of them could handle an anxiety attack at the moment led Lapis to gently rest her index finger over the hybrid’s lips.

“You can warn me, but you need to calm down first,” the older of the two responded in a tone that was more serious than she usually took on. “We have until an hour before sunrise. Preferably it won’t take that long, but, you know,” She shrugged, then shifted so she could pull Peridot close again. Her lover wasted absolutely no time in latching onto her with a death grip.

“How are you so calm right now? We’re in danger, both of us, and  _ you _ must have something drastic to tell  _ me _ if you’re out in the woods too.”

“I’m not,” Lapis replied - and she was being honest, considering her heart was thudding in her chest with enough force to revive a corpse. “But I’m faking it, because pretending to be completely okay is better than having a breakdown in the middle of the woods.”

“That’s probably logical,” Peridot grumbled, and Lapis could probably tell that it was a bit begrudgingly because it was usually the sorceress being reasonable and the princess being a drama queen, not the other way around. Especially considering the royal had a potential head injury - so Lapis could only assume that whatever had worked Peridot up into a frenzy of panic and inability to  _ think logically _ must have been far more drastic than just a  _ marriage issue. _ It was a problem, certainly, but maybe not as much as whatever the younger girl had to say - and that kind of scared the shorter of the two.

It took a few minutes of holding the blonde being close and stroking her hair - honestly, how was it so soft, it was a little distracting - for Peridot to calm down, and then another few tries for the younger to be able to speak without coming within inches of a panic attack first. It kind of hurt Lapis to see someone she loved so much in such a state of distress, even if most of the danger must have been placed on  _ her _ instead of her lover.

“Yellow Diamond…,” the younger girl started, her breathing somewhat labored but more even than the last few times she tried, at least. Lapis shifted away slightly, still keeping a somewhat strong hold on her but enough to watch her expectantly. “She wants to ease the tensions between the kingdoms by  _ making them worse _ first. She wants to - to  _ force _ a compromise out of your mother instead of just making a meeting and apologizing like a fucking normal person would do. And - and she wants to do that by making you have to marry her heiress - Jasper -,”

“That’s not going to happen,” Lapis cut in, partially because Peridot was starting to get worked up again and partially because she needed to reassure herself. “That’s why I snuck out. I eavesdropped on my mother talking to Blue Pearl earlier. She’s going to marry me off a year early, but not to  _ Jasper. _ Just to White Diamond’s daughter,” She was about to softly put her hand on the younger’s cheek, but the sorceress yanked herself away first, and Lapis had to swallow down the hurt that began to settle in her chest at the action. That probably could have been handled better.

“No, no, you don’t understand!,” Peridot protested in a high squeal of distress, beginning to shake and shiver slightly where she stood. “She’s going to  _ make you, _ Lapis! She’s going to murder your people and plant spies in their place and kidnap you when she thinks the time is right and torture you and negotiate with your mother to force the marriage! And when she finds out about that betrothal, she’s going to do it twice as fast! You don’t have much time - you’ve got to tell your mother so she can increase security and stop it from happening. I know you’ll have to give me away, but I don’t care about what happens to me,  _ you _ need to keep safe.”

Lapis’ eyes were as wide as a doe’s, heart thudding dully in her chest and making her blood run cold. She may have been in shock or just insanely distressed, because everything felt distant and she could barely process what was going on. Yellow Diamond was going to  _ kill _ her people? So that she would have to marry Jasper and suffer for the rest of her life? And Peridot was willing to sacrifice her own safety in order to warm her? “But if your queen figures out that you warned me, you could be killed,” The older of the two responded in a bit of a murmur, straddling a line between horrified and strangely flattered. “Peri, I know you’re trying to do the right thing in warning me, but - but I can’t -”

“It’s not just  _ you _ as a person!,” The sorceress objected rather loudly, grabbing ahold of Lapis’ upper arms and holding her as if she wanted to shake her for being so dense. “As much as I love you and I want to keep you safe, you’re important as a political figure, too. You’re the heiress to the southern kingdom. You’re the  _ only daughter _ of the naiad queen. You’re going to be an amazing ruler one day, but… but you can’t rule if you die or marry another sole heiress. The western and southern kingdoms will have to merge if you marry Jasper - and the balance of everything will be thrown off.  _ Everyone _ is on the edge of a peasant revolt, even you, and a merging will just murder any efforts at peace with the east and the north. Please, Lapis, a lowly sorceress like me is  _ nothing _ compared to a princess--”

“Don’t say that!,” the naiad replied in a snap before she really knew what she was supposed to say to contradict it - best to just let the words out, she supposed. “Peridot, you are important! Not just to me, but to your kingdom and the world too - you’re a student of magic and a historian. You - you have knowledge that the rest of us have lost over time. And you don’t even have an apprentice. A merge doesn’t need to occur, my mother isn’t past the age of childbearing yet, she could always just nab some lucky citizen and produce a new heiress. I would be more easy to replace than you would be.”

“Anyone could read dusty old tomes, and with the way things are going, Blue Diamond isn’t going to have enough time to pop a child out, let alone raise it!”

“Not everyone can do magic like you can, and you don’t know that! We could have decades before a political revolution will take place.”

“You don’t know that, either!,” Peridot’s voice was mere decibels below a shout, and she yanked away from Lapis with a rough step back. “Things aren’t getting any better, Lazuli, and if you make things even worse by refusing to do what’s best, you’re an idiot and further endangering the state of things. Besides, people will be  _ happier _ if Yellow Diamond loses her sorceress - she won’t have the ability to disguise people as easily, and - and she won’t be able to cause as much trouble as she always has. Just, please, use your head instead of your emotions for once in your goddamn life. My going in for treason and getting executed would be more beneficial than you getting kidnapped and tortured and forced into a marriage that would cause a merger between two kingdoms that hate each other and mix like oil and water.”

Lapis loathed to admit it, but Peridot was kind of right, politically speaking. But things couldn’t just be all about the wellbeing of other people all the time, couldn’t just be about her duties as a royal until the day she died. She tried to be loyal to her family and her kingdom and her legacy, damn it, but the truth was simply that she didn’t want to live this way. It had just taken this rather unfortunate series of events and her love for the rival kingdom’s sorceress to make her start realizing it even more intensely than childish daydreams and runaway thoughts.

“Things aren’t getting any better between the kingdoms and the commoners, and they probably aren’t going to,” the princess spoke slowly, almost eerily calmly. “The only way any of this is going to swing is with one of us getting seriously injured or dying, and I don’t think that Yellow Diamond’s plan will work out in her favor. If anything, it will make tensions worsen in my kingdom due to a lack of security. And I certainly don’t want you to die for me - and even if nothing happens, then we’ll end up completely miserable for the rest of our lives knowing that we  _ found _ love but we couldn’t  _ have _ it. Because let’s be real here, there’s no way we have a future together the way things are going.”

“That’s awfully pessimistic,” the sorceress responded, with a tone that suggested that she was trying to be snide but really only succeeded in sounding defeated. Lapis was right, and she knew it; if measures hadn’t been so drastic, the older girl might have been smug about it. “What’s the point in letting me know? Kinda puts a damper on things.”

The older of the two hesitated for just a moment - she knew where she was going with this, but she seriously doubted her lover would agree. Still, it was worth a try, so she gently took ahold of Peridot’s hands and spoke. “Run away with me,” was her solution, and whether it was a question, a suggestion, or a demand, even she wasn’t entirely sure. Lapis watched the younger being with wide and hopeful eyes - she couldn’t see a better way to go about things at this point.

The response, as she probably should have expected, was mostly negative. Peridot wrenched away from her, glaring at her in a way that was probably meant to make her feel like a misbehaving - or stupid - child. “Lapis, we can’t just run away from our problems,” she chided, and she didn’t sound… angry, per se, just disappointed. “It’s a childish response to conflict, not to mention… highly irresponsible. Entire societies could collapse if we were to just… just  _ flee. _ It is tempting, but we’re… we’re not children anymore, we need to just face the world head on, ugly as it is.”

“But aren’t you tired of living life this way? How others have planned it out for you?,” the princess was almost desperate, reaching for and grabbing onto the younger woman’s hands again, holding them close to her chest. “Peridot, society  _ needs _ to change. Maybe it would be good for everything if we were to just let things taper out and collapse. We can even come back someday and settle things down if you really want to. I’m… I’m begging you, please, just do the childish thing for once in your life. We can be happy together, on our own, free to do as we please.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Peridot simply squeezed her hands, giving her a slightly pained look. “We can’t,” was her simple, hoarse response.

Lapis didn’t argue; she would try again, maybe, but for now all she could do was pull her lover into an embrace. Silently, she sank the both of them to the ground and leaned back against a tree; the weight of the world was on her shoulders, and the night was catching up with her. She was tired. So, so tired, and all she wanted to do was just drift away into a calm and peaceful sleep…

So she closed her eyes and let unconsciousness claim her, still clutching her lover close and allowing the quiet harmony of the forest lull her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I currently have a prequel and a sequel planned for this fic, prequel will be written shortly after I finish this and then the sequel will be written after that


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been really bad about updates lately, and I'm sorry. My mental illness has been acting up so my motivation is way down the drain, AND I recently started a let's play channel on YouTube so that's gonna take up a bit of time. I hope the long chapter makes up for it.

Before Lapis was truly awake, she knew that she was in the woods - but she felt…  _ different. _ Her mind heavy and blurred, the princess slowly blinked her eyes open and lifted her head from where it was leaning against a tree; her neck was sore as hell from falling asleep sitting up, and normally she might have complained about it, but for the moment it did not seem to matter. Glancing around, she found that the trees were not as tall and thick as they had been when she drifted off, and the filtering of the sun through the leaves seemed to be… less red than usual. Somehow, though, it didn’t seem to be strange to her - maybe she was dreaming, or… no, this was to clear to be a dream.

So perhaps it was a memory from a life and a time long past.

She became aware of a warm weight on her lap next and glanced down, finding a blonde and pasty skinned human with thick black glasses asleep with with her upper body using Lapis’ legs as a pillow. The young princess felt a lurch in her heart when she saw the sleeping girl - she seemed to be ill, judging by her low and slow and raspy breathing and the occasional small cough that passed through her sleeping form. Lapis gently brushed a pale strand of hair out of the human’s face (her skin was a tan color, though it didn’t really come as a shock - it felt right), and realized with a minute amount of shock that she bore a striking resemblance to Peridot… though that wasn’t all that much of a surprise. She already could have sensed that this girl was meant to be her lovable and dorky sorceress. And it hurt her more than just a fraction to see her lover ill and to have no way to make her feel better.

Helpless. She felt helpless. It felt as though they were some of the last people left that could trust one another, and there was nothing she could do to help Peridot, get rid of whatever was making her sick. The love of her life was dying on her lap, and Lapis was absolutely helpless to stop it. But at the same time, she felt as though this all could have been expected - like it was coming for a long time, and maybe it would be best for her to accept it, let Death take the most important thing left without a fight.

Such a pessimistic way of thinking, but whatever had happened to lead up to this must have killed Lapis’ enthusiasm and left it for dead. She sighed heavily and slowly leaned her head back against the tree, staring up at the small patches of light filtering through the thick canopy above. The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath… the headache of before this strange flashback returning to her, a dull thudding where her head had connected to the ground.

Opening her eyes again, the princess found that the trees were back to their ordinary heights, and glancing at the freckled blue skin of her arms let her know that things were, in fact, back to normal. A moment of peace followed as she glanced down at her green lover, gently stroking her index finger up the sorceress’ cheek and taking a moment to appreciate that Peridot was there, and alive, and healthy to her knowledge. A small smile appeared on her face as she leaned down to gently brush her lips against her lover’s temple, slightly amused when the sorceress made a grumpy little sound in her sleep.

Then she remembered what had just happened, the thick sleepiness in her head wearing off as she realized that she had fallen asleep in the woods and, judging by the brightness of the small amount of sunlight, it was probably mid-morning. The rest of her kingdom would be awake by now.  _ She _ would normally have been awake by now - though, by prior experience, she knew that the servants were not supposed to disturb her slumber until early afternoon. She could still sneak in through the secret passage back to her bedroom before she got in trouble. But Peridot - she’d no clue what the sorceress’ routine was like, whether she was supposed to have spells done by now.

Panic beginning to settle in, the princess gently shook her lover’s shoulder. “Peridot, wake up,” she hissed, glancing around the woods. Once more she became frustrated with her current situation, frustrated that waking up in the morning with the love of her life had to result in panic instead of a nice domestic moment. Most days, she would allow herself to get angry and become bitter about it, but this time she didn’t have time to waste being reasonably pissed off at things she couldn’t control. “We fell asleep. We need to get back to the kingdoms.  _ Wake. Up.” _

It took the sorceress a moment to respond, lazily turning a little and glancing up at Lapis with sleepy emerald eyes. The princess wished she could be gentle and easy with rousing her from her slumber, but she just couldn’t afford to - and that hurt her about as much as the fact that this was even a problem did. Again, the idea of just running away with her lover in hand passed through her mind, though she forced herself to kick it down. Peridot had already denied that possibility… for the moment.

Lapis opened her mouth to speak again, but the current situation seemed to sink into the hybrid’s mind before she needed to. Almost comically, Peridot jolted up so that she was sitting in the princess’ lap, then stumbled to rise to her feet - almost falling on her face, though the naiad noticed at the last possible moment that she would topple over and wrapped her arms around her middle in a firm and protective grip. The affectionate and lovesick thought that the sorceress was delightfully warm and soft passed through the princess’ mind, though she forced herself to set aside her state of enamorment for the moment. There just wasn’t enough time for her to concentrate on how in love she was.

“Why did you let me fall asleep?,” Peridot snapped, almost sounding annoyed but mostly sounding panicked. She wrestled herself out of the thin royal’s grip, yanking Lapis to her feet after her. The heiress stumbled for just a moment, needing to right herself by grabbing onto Peridot’s shoulders - which almost sent them both tumbling to the ground again. Damn, this was just  _ not _ a good morning.

“I was asleep before you,” the nymph replied calmly, almost too calmly for the situation. She wasn’t entirely sure what was keeping her grounded enough to avoid panic, but she supposed she wouldn’t complain about it - it was possible that she would be the only one capable of it at the moment. “But it doesn’t really matter who fell asleep first. It’s the middle of the morning. We might be able to get back to our kingdoms without anybody noticing that we were gone, but only if we  _ hurry. _ You can probably make it back into your quarters with a few teleportation spells, and I’ll just make a run for it.”

“Mid-morning?,” Peridot replied in a voice that was high with distress, clawed hands reaching up to snarl themselves in her blonde shock of hair. “Yellow Diamond probably knows that I’m gone. She’s going to be upset that I wasn’t around to put together her morning potions,  _ let alone _ that I left the kingdom without anybody knowing I did! Lapis, I’m in trouble - she’s - she’s going to  _ hurt me _ for this, I can’t get away from treason with just a smack on the wrist no matter how important I am to the kingdom! And I’m not  _ that _ important, it’s entirely possible to self teach, just a bit difficult --”

“Tell her that you realized late at night that you were out of the ingredients for her potion, went out to get more, and got lost,” Lapis spoke, more than a little freaked out by all this talk of being  _ punished _ and getting  _ hurt. _ “You’re going to be okay. I know  _ you _ know that it’s possible to self teach magic, but your queen might not know, right? And she can’t dig up any proof that you’ve committed treason, unless the harpies in the woods are going to fly off and tell her all about it.”

“She doesn’t  _ need _ proof to condemn people, she’s a queen with a quick temper and not a lot of patience for those she suspects,” Peridot groaned, finally breaking away from the princess in order to pace back and forth. Lapis might have watched with a bit of amusement, but they didn’t have the  _ time _ required to let the sorceress overthink everything and work herself up into a fit. She stepped forward again, ready to grab onto her lover and calm her down before things could get out of hand, but the younger woman turned quickly back to facing her. “I’m doomed. We fucked up and now I’m doomed.”

The heiress swallowed thickly, studying the hybrid carefully for several moments. She  _ knew _ that Yellow Diamond was a ruthless, cruel, and borderline sadistic tyrant, and as much as she wanted to deny it and be optimistic, she knew that things wouldn’t end all that well for Peridot if she were to go back to the desert kingdom. She knew that as soon as they separated, there was nothing left that she could do for the sorceress - and it was panic and quick thinking that led her to grab onto either of the green being’s wrists. Peridot gave her a look of confusion, but stony determination had taken over her features.

“Come with me,” she suggested, though it came out as more of a demand. “Come to my kingdom. You can tell my mother what you learned yourself, and you’ll be seen as a hero for being brave enough to come and warn the queen. You’ll be  _ safe. _ My guards will protect you, and if it comes down to it, then  _ I’ll _ make sure nothing happens - we can be together, we can be happy, neither of us has to die, and we don’t have to run away. Please. Just come to my castle with me.”

“But then  _ you _ will get in trouble,” Peridot replied slowly, gradually gaining back her cold reason but sounding… sad. She really didn’t believe that things could end well, did she? “If I come with you to your kingdom, then people will know that we’ve been meeting in secret. Even if they don’t immediately assume that, then it _ will _ look really suspicious if we both walk in from the woods at the same time,” She paused, then wrapped her arms around Lapis - the royal was a bit surprised for a moment, but returned the embrace without much of a hesitation. “But - it  _ does _ seem like our best option. The plan just needs a little work, that’s all. What if I were to stay in the woods for an hour after you return home, and then I rush out to warn Blue Diamond? That way we can’t be punished for meeting up in secret, I won’t be punished for not being in my quarters this morning, and Yellow Diamond’s plan will be foiled just in time.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” the princess nodded, gently shifting her hands down so she could hold onto the sorceress’. “Risky, but reasonable. I guess it’s our best and only option at this point, but - you need to  _ promise _ me you’ll be careful. Don’t do something stupid and get yourself caught. And come to me safe and unharmed.”

“In a couple of hours, this will all be over. No more secrecy, no more treason, no more risk to either of our lives. I promise not to turn this into more of a risk than it already is. Everything I do is meticulously planned out, you know that.”

“Kissing me the first time wasn’t.”

“Yes, well, that was  _ good _ impulsiveness. I was caught up in the pleasantness of the night and in your beauty, and surely you can’t fault me for that.”

“This doesn’t seem like the best time for flirting.”

“ _ Any time _ is a good time for flirting,” Peridot replied, giving a small smile - though it seemed more forced than anything, plastered onto her face for the sake of reassurance. The fakeness of the expression made it more worrying than anything. Still, Lapis appreciated the effort, so she softly brushed her lips against her lover’s cheek.

“Do you think we’re going to be okay?,” she asked quietly, uncertainly. She  _ wanted _ to be optimistic about the outcome of everything they had planned, but it felt too hasty to truly work. Like this should have been planned over the course of months instead of less than an hour - and it might have been, if circumstances had not forced them to rush chin deep into something that they were probably too young to get involved with. It was too late to try to take another course now; everything had altered so dramatically that it was no longer an option to become broken in favor of avoiding conflict.

Lapis seriously doubted that their relationship would have gone in that direction, anyway. They had allowed themselves to fall so deeply into love that there was no way out, and it was probable that there would never be a way out. They had risked too much for each other, they had spent too much time meeting in secret and bonding, and they had dug a hole so deep into everything that they would need to stick together even if they weren’t as close as they were. She wasn’t sure if it would feel right, now, to be without Peridot; she had a hard time imagining her life without time with the younger girl to look forward to. And if her dream was, truly, a memory, then perhaps they were even… meant to be together.

“I don’t know,” the sorceress finally answered slowly with a heavy sigh. “I really don’t. The monarchies and the ways of life and the relations between the kingdoms have been set in stone pretty much since their creation. Your queen might not trust a sorceress from Yellow Diamond’s kingdom - magic bearers are thought to be sly and crafty for one reason or another. Or my queen may find out that I was the one to rat her out if that goes well, and she may find some way to come after me,” she sighed heavily and leaned into the embrace, causing Lapis to have to widen her stance slightly to avoid falling over. “But as of right now, it’s the safest option with the best possibility of success.”

Not very reassuring, but she would take it. The heiress nodded and shifted back so she could separate the contact, glancing off to the side and trying to keep her thoughts from wandering into the pessimistic territory. If all went well, then she would see Peridot in a couple of hours and they would never have to sneak around to be together anymore.

If things went poorly… one or both of them would be dead by afternoon.

Dark blue gaze glanced over to her lover, and Lapis was afraid. Afraid that her mother would not be understanding if she had to spill the beans - afraid that Yellow Diamond would do something to bring harm to Peridot before either of them could bring a warning about - afraid of her future, afraid of what had to happen both immediately and in a few years’ time. She hesitated, needing just a little bit of reassurance but slightly afraid of asking, before grabbing onto the younger girl’s hips and pulling her close, connecting their lips almost hungrily and desperately.

The kiss was more heated than most of the ones they had shared before, though neither of them felt the need to tense or break it off. It was rough, desperate, both of them pleading for some sort of relief from the fear and the stress of the situation. Peridot’s arms wrapped around her waist, and Lapis slowly eased so that she could return the embrace; when they finally pulled away, both girls were blushing thickly. Lapis’ fears were slightly quelled, but there was nothing she could do to ease the dull and pounding anxiety in the back of her mind.

“I’ll see you in a couple hours,” she spoke with a dogged determination, and Peridot nodded in response. “Stay safe.”

“You too.”

They kissed again, brief and sweet, and the princess was reluctant to pull away and leave - but, eventually, she did, gently squeezing the younger girl before running off in the direction of her kingdom.

* * *

 

The first rustle of the underbrush was not concerning. These were the woods, there were imps and gremlins and other small creatures running around her feet and it would be silly of her to immediately suspect that there was something large and intelligent in the area that would want to harm her. Very few knew their way around these woods, and many were exceedingly superstitious that the land between the western and southern kingdoms was cursed. The trees were old, far older than any of the kingdoms, and there were some that believed that it had been around since the age of the humans. Stressed rulers and shamed soldiers were said to make their way into the woods in order to take their own lives, and there were some that still believed that their ghosts haunted the area, and those that were not as suspicious still found the thick trees and dark atmosphere to be more than a little eerie. It certainly didn’t help that the harpies in the trees had a habit of picking off those they could sense ill intent in. Those that were not protected by a crowd or a coach were simply too afraid to journey into the wood.

The second did not get her all that paranoid either, but the third sounded too nearby and too large to be a timid woodland creature; even the most aggressive would ignore intelligent creatures unless they were approached. The princess tensed her shoulders, suddenly feeling very small and alone, and continued on her path home. As a safety precaution, she located the nearest body of water, a small pond less than a mile away - she could utilize that to her advantage and get out of a scrape.

The fourth was right next to her, and the fifth was enough to make her lose her grip on courage and snap quickly to face the source of the sound, using the pond to slam into the bush where the noise had come from. Heart pounding, she watched the bush; she’d heard the water slam into something, but nothing came out of the plant to show itself. The princess frowned deeply, slowly approaching the bush against her better judgement to take a look and see if she could tell what on Earth was going on.

It should not have surprised her when a soldier wearing yellow armor lunged at her, but it did. With a startled squeak, Lapis was tackled to the ground, heart pounding in her ears and blind panic taking over her body. She silently wondered how on Earth the warrior could have remained conscious after her water attack, but she had no time to dwell on it; wasting too much time on thinking when in a fight would result in her losing and either dying or being captured. Internally grateful for the extensive self defense training she’d been forced to sit through, the princess quickly dodged out of the way of a fist swung at her and utilized the pond in hitting the soldier with another blast. This time, it was powerful enough to knock the warrior to the ground, but she was quickly grabbed from behind by powerful arms round her waist.

They were attacking her with their bare hands, so that probably meant that they wanted her alive - she wasn’t very comforted by that. Of course, of  _ course _ they had decided to move into her village the very day she was going to prevent it! Determined to protect both herself and her people, Lapis allowed her fighter instinct to take over and twisted enough to allow her next pump to knock the soldier off of her. Not even enough time for her to think passed before another was on her, and she was prepared to use her control over the pond to knock him off as well -

Only for something strong to slam into her head, and everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Peridot trips and hurts herself. Twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The full human situation won't be addressed in full until the prequel ;) Luckily, we're about halfway through this fic so you might not need to wait long.

Peridot had been trailing behind Lapis since they separated, mainly so she knew for sure the way to get to Blue Diamond’s kingdom - and she had noticed the soldiers lying in wait at about the same time as her lover. The sorceress had wanted to burst out, magic flaring, and make a big scene, but shock had kept her restrained with her invisibility spell cloaking her; she was unable to move, too frightened, until she watched as the soldiers picked up the unconscious Lapis and carried her towards Yellow Diamond’s kingdom, chuckling to one another about how easy it had been to capture the princess and theorizing about why she would be in the woods at such a time. Even after they were out of sight, she remained where she stood, shaking and trying to figure out what to do. Logically speaking, it would make no sense for her to sprint after them and rescue her lover - they would know what was going on even if she won the fight, and the queens would know as well - but damn it all, it was what she  _ wanted _ to do.

As always, though, she needed to prioritize logic over everything else. And, logically, it would be best for her to run to Blue Diamond and notify her of what had happened - even if she had to confess her affair with the princess, having a queen and an army helping Lapis would be better than a single sorceress that was more than a little bit of a weakling and got very frantic when she was panicked. So Peridot gathered the black fabric of her dress - honestly, why had she left in a nightgown - into her hands and took off like a shot in the direction she believed the kingdom to be in. There was no trail, and she could only pray that her lover had avoided taking a turn in order to shake off any pursuers.

The first time she stumbled, it was over a snagged root, and she fell with a squeak. She heard a small crunch as her ankle twisted, and she landed in a heap on the forest floor, dazed and vaguely aware of a stinging sensation where she had scraped her elbow against the ground. Dazed, she forced herself to get to her feet, though she nearly collapsed again with a small cry at the imaginary knives of pain shooting up from her ankle through her leg. She  _ definitely _ sprained it at the very least, but she needed to keep moving - the futures of the kingdoms were counting on her, the peace of her world was counting on her,  **Lapis** was counting on her. The sorceress murmured a spell under her breath, pointing the tips of her fingers at her hurt ankle and continuing to run forward with the pain mildly quelled and a limp in her step. She had never possessed much stamina, but now that it  _ truly _ mattered and she needed it, she could not afford to let herself stop and breathe through the pain. Or stop to catch her breath, which was running low and lighting her lungs on fire. She used to be so much better at running, back when the world was ending…  _ wait, what? _

She shook her head - the thought had been a random and unfounded one, because she had never in her life witnessed something that could even come close to being described as the apocalypse. She would have liked to stop running and ponder it, but she hadn’t that kind of time - she needed to get her ass to Blue Diamond and explain the current situation of the heiress as soon as she possibly could, if not sooner. And she intended to make it sooner. The quicker she could get her hands on that princess, the quicker she could get her out and get her back to safety. And that was all that mattered to her. Lapis didn’t deserve to get hurt like Yellow Diamond was planning - her only ‘crime’ was being born into the royal family that rivalled hers. Peridot felt sick thinking about it. The queen who she had been born - or maybe even created - to serve and be loyal to was using the woman she loved as a bargaining chip.

It wasn’t the first time that the sorceress hated the conditions surrounding her, but it was the first that the hatred inspired a burning anger in the bottom of her chest that spread through the rest of her body and gave her the second wind to run faster. Wheezing with the effort, she miraculously managed to get through the woods without falling again, and the edge of the trees was within sight. She had never been so happy to see where forest ended and civilization began in her life.

The gap between Blue Diamond’s village and the forest was much smaller than the one on Yellow Diamond’s side, as Peridot found when she tripped the second time. She had been caught off-guard by the sudden change from leaves to cobblestone and tripped on the edge of the road, landing once more on her front with a small squeal. Her forehead slammed into the uneven surface, and everything went black for a split second. She pulled herself off the ground a moment later with a small groan, and found herself stepping backwards in fear and awe at the sudden,  _ very _ unexpected change that had been made to her surroundings.

Instead of a village, she saw before her a city, the likes of which had not yet reached her world. Massive buildings made of steel and brick reached high enough to scrape the sky, the sunlight glinting off of the windows in what seemed to be a cruel attempt to blind her. Glancing back told her that the forest was gone, replaced by more buildings - and glancing to the side showed her a petite human girl, with freckled olive skin and jet black hair gazing at the buildings with a frown. The girl turned her head to lock eyes with Peridot, and the sorceress found herself stepping back again as she realized that this human had eyes the same color and depth of her lover’s.

This was Lapis.  _ Her _ Lapis.

Glancing down told her that she, too, seemed to be human, with a fair skin tone and the plastic of prosthetic legs starting a few inches below her knees glinting slightly in the sunlight. The sorceress - human? - swallowed down the thick layer of bile beginning to settle in her throat, closing her eyes tightly and trying to make things go back to normal. She didn’t have time for this - whatever it was. She supposed ‘flashback’ was the best word for now.

When she opened her eyes again, she realized with relief that she was back at the village, but now there were a few women staring at her from next to one of the houses. Fuck. It probably looked very strange for the sorceress of Yellow Diamond’s kingdom to be standing at the edge of the woods, wheezing to catch her breath and flushed from the running she had just done… and that wasn’t even considering the fact that she had banged her head and probably apparently looked around at nothing like a dazed animal. She supposed it didn’t matter, though. Some peasants could do nothing to deter her from her mission to get to Blue Diamond as quickly as she possibly could.

Luckily for her, castles were quite large, and this one was no exception. The blue kingdom was well known for its culture and grandeur, and the massive palace taking up much of the skyline proved the stereotype. Wheezing for breath, the sorceress sprinted down the main road and towards the castle’s main gate, uttering her teleportation spell quickly in order to bypass the guards with no problem. She didn’t want anything delaying her - her little trip to the human age had taken up enough of her precious time. Time she didn’t have - at any moment, Lapis could be subjected to horrific tortures.

The grand hall was built of grey stone, various pools reflecting light up to the ceiling to give off the illusion of being underwater. Pillars decorated with blue diamonds and lapis lazulis lined the walls, and Peridot might have taken a moment to admire it and be jealous if she weren’t so focused on her goal. A simple tracking spell was murmured under her breath, and just as she heard the guards from outside burst through the door of the castle, she managed to sprint off in the direction of the queen.

Just as she managed to burst through the door of the throne room, she was grabbed from behind by the two kelpie guards - which she thought was just excessive, but whatever - and immediately struggled to be free under the watchful and mildly startled gaze of Blue Diamond. “Apologies, my Diamond. This sorceress got past us with the aid of a teleportation spell. We will escort her to the dungeon now. Please carry on holding court.”

The queen nodded in response, and the kelpies lifted Peridot off her feet. The sorceress made a loud sound of denial, squirming in the hold of the guards and struggling to catch her breath enough to speak - the run to the castle had taken a lot of energy to accomplish, and her lungs and throat didn’t seem to want to cooperate with her. She was exhausted, but she was unwilling to let the guards take her away when she needed to notify Blue Diamond of Lapis’ location as soon as possible.

“WAIT!,” She finally managed to force out. “DIRE SITUATION! PRINCESS! IN DANGER!,” She all but screeched within wheezes, and the kelpies glanced back at their ruler to see what they should do. Silently, Peridot begged the queen to do something, anything, to help her, to believe that she was being truthful and honest - though she had nothing to gain from lying, and she was too out of breath to possibly be anything other than urgent. Silence seemed to stretch on forever before Blue Diamond finally nodded slowly, a pensive frown on her face as she studied the sorceress - she was stoic as she raised a hand, and Peridot was struggling to conceal her panic at this point.

“Bring her to my quarters, and give her some water. I will conclude court and be up shortly. Ensure that no harm comes to her - any guard that decides to hurt this sorceress will receive capital punishment. And sorceress, I hope for your sake that you are being honest.”

* * *

 

The room was nice, possibly nicer than Yellow Diamond’s, but Peridot was too distracted to focus on worldly and material possessions at the moment. Sipping tentatively from the goblet of cold water she had been given to ease the fire in her throat, the sorceress looked out the window and towards the tall woods; her own kingdom wasn’t visible from here. The illusion of seclusion was given off despite the shortest route to the western territory taking perhaps a half hour to traverse. It made the green being feel anxious, alone, and far from home - but also, oddly enough, safe. Like Yellow Diamond couldn’t get her here, so long as she remained within the safe haven that was the southern castle. Now if only Lapis were here, at home, and not locked away within the dungeons of her queen. The dull ache in her ankle was starting to return, and she internally reminded herself to try and figure out a healing spell later - for now, the magical painkiller would work just fine.

When Blue Diamond entered the room, it might not have been noticeable if not for the amount of time it took for her servant to assist her and guide her into a chair. Peridot found herself wondering why the queen was not capable of independent movement, though she didn’t quite have the disrespect to question it. As soon as the diamond was seated, she waved for the pearl to leave the room, and the servant girl did so immediately without a second thought. She must have truly believed she was not in danger, if she was willing to be alone in a room with a sorceress.

“My daughter was not in her quarters this morning,” the queen spoke with an eerie calm that shook Peridot to the core. “She was not anywhere in the castle. I am going to assume that your news regarding her being in danger is related to that. And I hope that you had nothing to do with it,” Blue Diamond tilted her head slightly, so that Peridot could see one navy blue eye from underneath her hood. She was unable to suppress a shudder - Lapis shared the color, but not the cold and calculating glare.

“I would never dream of assisting to bring harm to the princess,” Peridot responded honestly, trying to avoid sounding offended at even the idea that she would think of it. She had to remind herself that their affair was hidden - that the queen had no idea that she was indirectly accusing the sorceress of hurting her lover. “That is why I’m here. Yellow Diamond sent a spy here to kidnap the princess late last night, while most of the kingdoms were asleep. Lapis Lazuli is currently in the dungeon pending her torture - I slipped away at the first chance I got to notify you, as it is my moral obligation. Yellow Diamond plans on negotiating with you to bargain the princess’ freedom in exchange for you marrying her off to Jasper, the most powerful soldier in the western military.”

Blue Diamond studied her for several beats, and Peridot didn’t need to see those dark blue optics to know that they were bearing into her soul. Eventually, the queen straightened her posture - how that was possible, the sorceress was unsure - and addressed her once more with a cutting question that she hadn’t been expecting. “Witch, do you think me to be a fool?”

Peridot gasped slightly and involuntarily recoiled, hand over her chest. “Of course not, your highness! You are certainly a wise ruler.”

“Then tell me the entire truth. You are not being completely honest. Some of the things you say may be true, but the rest seems to be too convenient to be accurate,” the queen responded calmly, leaning back against the back of her chair and folding her hands together.

Peridot, quite honestly, felt like she was going to throw up. There was a very real possibility that she would die here and now, because she would be required to spill the truth about her affair with the princess of an enemy kingdom. But she needed to - for the sake of Lapis, to help her.

“... I have been engaging in a secret love affair with Princess Lapis Lazuli for the last three years. Whenever we can both slip away, we meet in a meadow in the woods between the two kingdoms. We have been doing so since shortly after her sixteenth birthday - we met in the gardens during the party to introduce her. At first, it was just for the sake of teenage rebellion, doing something thrilling; it was never meant to last very long, but we… we both fell in love,” She swallowed thickly and glanced to the side, unable to meet the gaze of the queen for very long. “Yesterday evening, she overheard you speaking with a servant about her arranged marriage, and I overheard Yellow Diamond speaking to Jasper about a plan to slaughter a few of your people in order to kidnap Lapis and force her into a marriage with the brute. We both had the same idea to warn each other, and ran into each other in the woods last night a little past midnight. We discussed running away or warning you, and eventually decided to warn you. We accidentally fell asleep, and woke this morning in a panic. We decided that she would return home, hopefully before anyone else noticed, and I would follow one hour later to deliver the warning. She was captured by western soldiers shortly after we parted ways, and presumably has been taken back to Yellow Diamond’s kingdom to carry out the rest of the plan.”

Silence followed, thick enough that if the sorceress wanted to she felt like she could cut it with a knife and serve it for dinner. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, and she was certain that the queen would snap at any moment and demand she be beheaded. When Blue Diamond finally spoke, Peridot squirmed uncomfortably under her heavy watch but was no less relieved by the words. “If Lapis had told me sooner that she had fallen in love, I could have worked something out. I still can, if she can be rescued,” the queen responded slowly, unfolding her hands to rest them at her sides. “I thank you for being brave enough to notify me instead of taking matters into your own hands, Peridot. I will ensure that you are kept safe from the wrath of Yellow Diamond, but unfortunately, I have another request for you.”

The sorceress furrowed her brows, but nodded obediently. “If it will assist in the retrieval of the princess, I will do anything,” She confirmed, hoping that she sounded less emotional and more loyal than she thought she did.

“I will be sending you back to the western kingdom with one of my messengers. They will claim that I sent for you early this morning to discuss peace between the monarchies because you are a reliable member of the court, and I will be requiring your presence on a nightly basis until further notice. Should she deny, you will tell her that might mean war, or whatever it is she fears,” Blue Diamond spoke in a tone devoid of any emotion, which Peridot took to mean she was considering what she was saying. “You are to make sure my daughter is not killed when she is tortured, and you are to bring me a report of how she is doing every night until she is retrieved. When she is, return to my kingdom that night and you will be allowed to stay here as my sorceress. You will be able to marry Lapis. I’m sure that will suffice for forging an allegiance - the north and east hate her as much as I do, so perhaps my taking in her sorceress will earn me some respect.”

Peridot nodded, committing the plan to memory. How well things were going was almost too good to be true, so she was going to be sure to confirm her compliance as soon as possible. “Understood, ma’am. I won’t let you down.”

“I certainly hope not. It will not end well for you if you fail.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, for my final project in film I'm making a promotional commercial for the woods in this fic, painting them as a vacation destination. If you'd like me to link the finished video once it's all done, I will.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Healing spells are dandy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 12:10 in the morning

The westernmost kingdom was familiar, but that did nothing to ease Peridot’s intense fear as she followed Blue Diamond’s messenger through the village. She felt as though this was the  _ true _ walk of shame; it was humiliating to walk past the bristly and easily angered people that made up the kingdom’s citizenship, and made entirely worse by the fact that she knew she had just committed treason. Regardless of whether or not the opposing queen was in support of her and the fact that she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do, the sorceress felt disgusting. She had been raised to serve Yellow Diamond, and here she was, giving away her queen’s plan to a rivalling kingdom.

She was ashamed of herself, even though she  _ knew _ that she was being a good person by doing what she could to keep the peace between the kingdoms and save the monarchy of one. Peridot felt frustrated with both herself and the fact that she’d been brainwashed into patriotism enough to feel like she’d done something wrong. Keeping her head ducked, she trailed behind the short naiad (who didn’t seem nearly as afraid as the sorceress herself did, much to her frustration) walking with her head high towards the tall gates of the palace.

“I’m here with a message for Yellow Diamond for Blue Diamond and to escort the sorceress Peridot back from her journey to the blue kingdom,” the messenger spoke calmly, not disturbed in the least by the towering and animalistic presence of the sphinxes currently on duty. It was odd to her, mainly because she expected the elegant visitors from the southern village to be afraid of the savage looking citizens of the yellow kingdom, and it made her wonder whether she had been there before.

Or perhaps even overseen it. There were whispers that there was a clairvoyant in Blue Diamond’s court, and Peridot had never thought it to be true, but she didn’t know what to believe anymore. “What is your name?,” one of the sphinxes asked slowly, squinting with amber eyes down at the two smaller beings. “Yellow Diamond was not expecting visitors today.”

“My name is Sapphire, and the information I carry is classified,” the messenger responded, keeping a cool and calm composure. “I can, however, tell you that this was not planned beforehand. My queen called for Peridot late in the night yesterday, and sent me to fetch her. That is why she was not present in her quarters this morning, and I have come to return her and have a word with the queen regarding the futures of our kingdoms. I’m sure neither Blue nor Yellow Diamond would be very pleased if you were to prevent important information from reaching her.”

The two guards shared a glance before squinting suspiciously at Sapphire and shifting out of the way, permitting the two to enter. The messenger glanced at Peridot, and she took that as a message to walk ahead and lead her to the throne room. Slightly more confident after getting past the guards, the sorceress kept her chin up as she walked through the familiar entrance room and corridor to where she was fairly certain Yellow Diamond would be; it was rare for the queen to  _ actually _ hold court and listen to her people, but it was common for her to sit in her throne in order to look powerful and let everyone know she was staying there. Peridot didn’t entirely understand it, but things had been the way they were since before she was born, and she was sure it would stay that way until long after she died.

When she reached the door, her confidence faltered, and she swallowed thickly before opening the door and entering the vast yellow room. Sure enough, the tall nymph was seated on the throne, squinting at her suspiciously and murderously. The sorceress quickly hurried in, genuflecting before her queen to attempt to ease any anger by being respectful. “My Diamond, I apologize for not being in my quarters this morning. Blue Diamond called for me late at night and I had to hurry there - this messenger is required to deliver a message to you, b-but if there are any potions you’d like for me to make while she talks to you I can prepare them quickly.”

Yellow Diamond studied her for several moments before nodding slightly and getting to her feet. “You’re lucky you’re important to the court, Peridot. I would otherwise be prepared to execute you right now. Go to your quarters, and prepare a truth serum for me. Have it ready by midday.”

Peridot swallowed down her relief - she was getting off with maybe a serious talk later, and that was something she was grateful for. She saluted the queen with a small smile, gave Sapphire a sympathetic glance, and turned on her heel. It took all of her self control to not sprint out of the throne room at top speed, because that would have looked unprofessional and gotten her in bigger trouble.

Silently, she took stock of everything she remembered on her shelves - she  _ definitely _ had a truth serum tucked away under her floorboards that she had developed when she was still learning how to put them together. That gave her about two to three hours to find or create a healing spell and find her way into the dungeon to locate Lapis.

She could do that.

* * *

 

The dungeon was dark, damp, and smelled primarily of mold. Those were Lapis’ initial complaints - but now that time had passed, all she could really concentrate on was the extreme and unnecessary pain sourcing from anywhere that had been smashed, electrocuted, or cut into over the course of the last few hours. She was tired and hurting - she could tell that golden blood was leaking from more than a few spots along her arms, stomach, and back. She wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought her arms were broken considering the way she was chained by them were causing her enough agony to keep her awake despite how thoroughly she wanted to pass out and let her body rest.

When she heard the heavy door of her cell open and noticed light flooding the room from behind her eyelids, she flinched back against the wall as best she could; she expected for somebody to come in and hurt her even further. It wasn’t until she heard a familiar voice shriek her name in a horrified tone that she recognized Peridot’s presence in the room. Never before had she been so relieved to hear her love’s voice; she quickly opened her eyes and tried to move forward, only to put more strain on her injured arms and fall back with a pained cry and a flinch.

She could vaguely tell that the sorceress was hesitant to touch her; she must have looked as bad as she felt. Lapis tried to speak, but all she could really manage to force out was a broken pronunciation of Peridot’s name. It was more than a little difficult to speak when she was on the very edge of unconsciousness and only being kept awake by the immense levels of pain she was in.

“I can fix this, I can fix this,” the younger of the two murmured - she must have been trying to reassure her, but Lapis could register slightly that she was panicked by the current state she was in. Careful clawed hands were placed on her burned sides, and the princess weakly made a sound of pain and tried to squirm. “Shit, shit, sorry,” she hissed, and before Lapis could say anything to reassure her, she murmured something in an ancient language.

The heiress felt her body being lifted slightly, the weight taken off her broken limbs and a warmth filtering through her frame, culminating in almost excruciating hot spots where she was already injured. When it started fading and cooling, though, she let out a relieved sigh - the pain was gone, and the blood had stopped running. Lapis was fairly certain that some of it would scar, but for the most part, she was just relieved; and excessively impressed that her lover had managed to use such a powerful spell. Before she could even say a word, though, Peridot had tightly wrapped her arms around her, hiding her face in her chest and murmuring apologies over and over and over.

“It wasn’t your fault,” the princess replied in a soft murmur, trying to wrap her arms around her lover as best she could - but all she could really do was stretch her arms just enough to graze Peridot’s sides. Lapis cursed the chains holding her wrists to the wall silently - but at least she was able to rest her chin atop the caster’s hair. “You didn’t know that they would be in the woods this morning. You tried to warn me, and I’m sure you can think of something. Just… just don’t leave me until you  _ have _ to.”

“I’ll stay as long as I can,” the younger of the two promised with a small sniffle, and the princess wondered briefly if she was going to cry. That probably would  _ not _ end well, because they would both end up as blubbering messes and would be found out rather quickly. “But - but I don’t have a lot of time. Yellow Diamond needs a potion soon, and… and then I’m probably going to get a very stern talking to for leaving the kingdom in the middle of the night without asking her first,” Peridot then tugged her slightly closer, which was mildly uncomfortable on her restraints.

Mainly, though, she was shocked and afraid for her lover’s safety. Yellow Diamond had discovered that she was gone at night? Regardless of the fact that she was standing and alive to tell her that, her life was in danger, and that was  _ not _ a concept that Lapis enjoyed. She leaned more heavily against Peridot - as much as her restraints would allow her - as if it would protect the younger girl from any harm that decided to come her way. “This is all my fault,” she murmured brokenly, closing her eyes and trying to block out the negative thoughts bombarding her to no avail.

If she hadn’t initiated their first kiss in the garden and suggested they meet in secret, then they would not have fallen this deeply in love. Arranged marriage would not be nearly as big of an issue, and neither would Lapis’ kidnapping; in fact, it might have been put off if they hadn’t decided to rush out and warn each other of the impending unfortunate events just waiting to be tipped over and caused. Guards might have noticed that something was wrong because it had happened; but because of the princess deciding to initiate this secret relationship, none of that was so.

“Nothing is your fault,” the sorceress responded in a soft and reassuring voice, clawed hands gently combing through her hair. Lapis had to admit that it felt nice, but she could feel Peridot shaking with anxiety and panic with their close proximity no matter how much she tried to act calm. “It isn’t your fault Yellow Diamond decided to come up with the most barbaric possible way to get you into an arranged marriage with Jasper, nor is it your fault I made the decision to warn you. And my life isn’t in any danger, don’t worry. I talked to your mother this morning - she sent me back with a messenger, who I’d guess is trying to intimidate her with threats of war right now.”

Lapis sniffled faintly, not completely reassured but feeling somewhat better. Unfortunately, the tiredness of the day was beginning to catch up to her, the exhaustion of leftover pain making her eyelids heavy. Feeling safer in the arms of Peridot, the only one she felt she could trust in this entire castle, the princess had very few qualms with letting herself fall asleep and rest. Doing so might have gotten her into more than a few scrapes over the last twenty four hours, but the royal couldn’t really care less at the moment - her situation couldn’t  _ possibly _ get any worse, and her body was begging for it.

Her eyes slipped shut, and her breathing became soft and even.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD LAPIS STOP FALLING ASLEEP


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot talks to Blue Diamond about what actions should be taken to save the life of Lapis Lazuli.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maybe i'll be able to get around to regular updating again soon idk

It was well after midnight when Peridot made her way into Blue Diamond’s castle. The kingdoms were eerily silent, though the weight of the hostage situation regarding Lapis Lazuli was felt far more thoroughly in the atmosphere of the village she called home… it was sad, certainly, and the sorceress couldn’t help but feel guilty regarding her involvement in the whole thing. She was half expecting for somebody to recognize her, pull her aside and ask if the princess was alright, and she was perhaps a little overly anxious about it - she didn’t think she had it in her to lie right to somebody’s face about something which had visible damage she had witnessed and healed.

The pattern of the secret passageways had long been explained to her, and Peridot found little trouble in sneaking her way up to the floor where the quarters of the royals were located. She supposed she didn’t really need to be so quiet and sly about it, considering she had the queen’s express permission to be in the kingdom and visiting the castle, but in the last three years she had become so used to sneaking around behind the backs of others that it was just automatic at that point. Maybe that was a little sad - from law abiding citizen and close to Yellow Diamond to a rebel for what most would think are all the wrong reasons. But it was far, far too late to have any regrets; the life of the girl she loved was in danger, and by extension, so was any sort of stability between the four kingdoms.

She wasn’t entirely sure why she was so dead set on keeping things peaceful. For thousands of years, the same pattern had prevailed, and though most of the time it was stable, sometimes there were times of shortage or economic crisis that were handled badly. Maybe Peridot just wanted to keep the fragile calmness that had been the way of life for as long as she could remember.

Blue Diamond was waiting for her, seated calmly in a chair in her bedroom with her back straight and her head held high. She watched the sorceress carefully for several moments, in which Peridot was almost afraid to enter before she finally did so and quickly bowed to the matriarch. “I was able to visit your daughter today,” she spoke, swallowing down the lump in her throat that immediately began forming when she thought back to Lapis’ condition and her current situation. “She was hurt badly, but not fatally. I was able to heal her, and I don’t think Yellow Diamond intends to cause her enough damage to kill her for now, but… I get the feeling that when she realizes that she’s been healed in the morning, she will only cause more pain. It pains me to see her like that, ma’am. We need to get her out of there, I don’t know how long Yellow Diamond’s patience will hold or how long she will be willing to wait for an agreement.”

She wasn’t entirely sure of the course of action that she wanted to be taken, but she could sense a cold anger from the way Blue Diamond’s posture straightened a little further and a small frown appeared on her lips that the queen was  _ not _ pleased. Several possibilities, none of them good, ran through Peridot’s head - what if she called for her army to storm Yellow Diamond’s kingdom, possibly killing innocent volunteer peasants or starting a massive war? That was what her own queen would do if faced with her own child being kidnapped and tortured, but then again, the desert monarch was never particularly known for her good temper or patience… she didn’t know the ocean monarch at all, she had no clue what to expect from this encounter. Peridot watched with barely eased fear as Blue Diamond took a deep breath, apparently to calm her own temper, before speaking again with an eerily emotionless voice.

“If it is an agreement she wants, it is an agreement she will get. She will have to compromise, though, because there is no way in hell I will permit my daughter to marry her soldier. If I were to meet with her sometime in the near future, do you think she would be willing to change her requirements for the safe return of my daughter? A treaty, perhaps, or changing the marriage plan? I know that you love my Lapis, and I was planning to put something together anyway - it would only be beneficial to do so when it would assist in saving my only child’s life.” Perhaps it was not the queen’s intention, but the sorceress became a little more intimidated every time the heiress’ status was reminded… and more frustrated.

Maybe it was just her own rather violent upbringing, but she had really expected the matriarch naiad to take more…  _ drastic _ measures in order to ensure the life and wellbeing of her child. Hell, maybe she had been hoping for it; a part of her believed that Yellow Diamond would not budge and make exceptions unless forced to by her enraged rival. Her queen was stubborn, and got what she wanted, no matter the cost. “No. At least, I don’t think so. She seems pretty intent on getting Jasper married off to Lapis, and she probably won’t change her mind for anything. You’re probably going to need to either bow to her commands or break the princess out the hard way. I bet that’s what you want to do, right?,” the more logical part of her mind was begging her to shut up, “She’s your only child. Forget whether or not she’s replaceable as an heiress with a soldier or a second offspring or whatever. Don’t you  _ want _ to give in to the demands to save her life? Don’t you  _ care _ that she’s being injured mercilessly, possibly as we speak, because you’re sitting here biding your time and trying to think of a way around it?”

There was silence, and as Peridot’s rant died out she was beginning to genuinely fear for her life. Never in her eighteen years had she snapped at one of the four queens (at least, not to their faces like this), and with the extended quiet coming from Blue Diamond, she believed that she had made an absolutely fatal error. Was this it? Was this how she died? Or would the monarch send her back to her own kingdom with a detailed description of the treason she had been committing over the last three years? All because she had been an idiot and let her mouth and anger get ahead of her.

“I certainly do care about my daughter,” the queen replied slowly, and Peridot desperately wished that she would lower her hood and permit the sorceress to try and read her expression. “I carried her in my womb for nine months, gave birth to her, and have taught her nearly everything she knows for the last nineteen years. It would be difficult for me to be numb to this situation, even though I am acting like it. As a mother, yes, I do want to raise hell to return my daughter to where she is safe and protected. As a queen, however, I need to be calm and reasonable. No matter how personal the vendetta, I cannot send my armies to another kingdom. The casualties would be too high, and I would lose any status towards my people and the other rulers as a competent leader. I need to come up with a reasonable and affordable method to get her back, and I need to negotiate with Yellow Diamond to do so. Sending a rescue mission and breaking her out would be too risky, too dangerous. Someday, you will be helping Lapis with this kingdom and you will be the parent of my grandchildren. Then you will understand.”

Peridot did have to admit begrudgingly that Blue Diamond was being reasonable. She was more than just Lapis’ parent; she was a queen with armies and the lives of her citizens in her charge. The sorceress was beginning to feel like a bit of an idiot for making such a big deal about her refusal to send a militia to break the princess out of the enemy queen’s dungeon. “You need to discuss matters with Yellow Diamond as soon as possible, then,” she responded with a small amount of bitterness at having been wrong. “She has never had much patience, and it may not take her very long to decide that biding her time and waiting around for you to make a decision won’t come to fruition. I don’t think she will decide to spare Lapis when she comes to the conclusion she won’t get what she wants.”

“I know. I have been working with her longer than you have been alive,” the monarch frowned, rising unsteadily to her feet and crossing the room over to the window. Peridot trailed after her like a lost puppy, glancing out the glass to find that Blue Diamond was staring at the turrets of the yellow castle, barely visible in the distance over the gargantuan trees of the forest. “I will send a messenger in the morning to notify her that I will be meeting with her in two days’ time. Hopefully, we can reach a conclusion then.” Several beats of silence passed before the royal turned slightly to face the sorceress. “If I cannot, though, and you feel that Lapis’ life is in danger soon, I have an idea of what you could do.

“If there is a way to break my daughter out of the dungeon and out of the castle, then you must do that - but only if the situation becomes dire and she is facing death. There is an extension of the forest that runs into my territory. Four miles into the woods, there is a clearing with a small wooden cabin which my ancestors created should the royal family need to duck away during a war - take Lapis there, and make it your home. I will provide for you, and pretend that I don’t know you’re there… if there is an emergency, whether it be my death or Yellow Diamond’s, I will make sure there is someone that knows to retrieve you. But that is a risky move - you must only do it in case of emergency.”

The young sorceress was, to put it lightly, shocked that the queen was telling her about a home in the woods where she and Lapis would be able to live together in peace. It would be a massive risk to retreat there, what with war being an increasingly real possibility, but it was… to put it lightly, a delightful backup plan. Peridot almost wished to go there without any real danger, but with the responsibility weighed on her shoulders, she knew that she couldn’t. Doing so would cause immeasurable harm to at least two of the kingdoms, and might result in unnecessary death - the hybrid almost felt sick with the knowledge that this whole mess was partially her fault - if she hadn’t been meeting Lapis in the woods, then would she be asleep in her quarters right now? Would the authorities in the village have noticed that something was off with the citizens that had been replaced?

“Yes, your highness,” she responded with a nod, picking at a loose seam on her robes with one clawed hand. “But what would you classify as an emergency, or Lapis’ life in danger? Technically speaking, in the eyes of most, this is such a situation.”

“If you ever need to heal her from a fatal wound, or when Yellow Diamond begins plotting to slaughter her,” Blue Diamond replied, and Peridot was equal parts impressed and disturbed with the emotionless tone she could speak in when bringing up the very real possibility of her own offspring’s brutal murder. The sorceress nodded obediently nonetheless.

“I will make sure that she is kept alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at least real life talks w the in laws dont have anything to do with whether or not ur love lives


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You'll never be alone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly guys i'm so happy to be out of my writing funk you have no idea

Lapis was beginning to think that her existence was nothing but pain. Even after being healed, it had been a dull thudding in the back of her head - though that had been far more merciful and manageable than laying on the ground in a dirty corner, mangled. She couldn’t even tell where half of the blood on her was coming from, but she knew that she was  _ exhausted, _ and that her clothes and hair would be completely ruined. Why the state of her material possessions was on her mind, she didn’t know - maybe it was just that it was easier to focus on and deal with than the battle raging between numbness and excruciating pain over at least eighty percent of her nerve endings.

It had been like this for hours - her torture had startled in the middle of the night, when some guard or something finked on a hooded figure for visiting her cell. Yellow Diamond had been exceedingly angry about Lapis’ healed state, and tried to torture the identity of her visitor out of her. The princess had dealt with far too much for the sake of keeping Peridot safe, but no matter what was done to her, no matter what was promised, she had refused to give away a name or even the general description of an appearance. She wasn’t entirely sure if she regretted it or not; the queen had assumed that whoever it was would return and had zero qualms about beating, cutting, burning, electrocuting, pushing around the princess to the point where she was afraid that if she closed her eyes and let her body rest she would never open them again. (Or perhaps she would close them and wake up in another time, another life, far in the future without an inkling of where her lover or anyone she knew and loved was.)

When light flooded into the room, she was only vaguely aware of it, the greater part of her consciousness murky and feeling almost underwater with the sluggishness of its processing things. Blue eyes weakly blinked open, but the world around her was blurred and dark and unclear; she could vaguely make out a silhouette approaching her, the presence of the other familiar despite her being unable to concentrate on anything but her own pain long enough to pin a name on the intruder. She was almost a little upset - how dare this unknown person walk in on her misery?

She could sort of make out some unclear words, though she was unable to detect the tone or even understand what was being said to her; before she could try to even groan in response, magic coursed over her body, making her cry out in pain and writhe slightly as her wounds suddenly became hot, white cesspools of hurt that made her wish the torture had killed her. While it was running its course, it felt as though somebody was shoving melting iron into the worst of her injuries; when the pain wore off, it left her head spinning, but she did realize with a little bit of shock that all of the agony she had been in earlier had… disappeared, her wounds closed and scarred over, her head no longer unclear despite the significant loss of blood she had endured making it feel a little light.

“Lapis, say something,” she heard a voice so familiar it made her want to cry demand. Peridot gathered her up into her arms, gently holding the princess against her, and said royal had never been so relieved to know her beloved was with her before. She let out a slight sob, weakly wrapping her arms around the younger girl; she genuinely had no words to say, the emotions of sorrow and fear and relief and love completely overwhelming her mind in a way the only proper response she had was to cry.

The hybrid froze slightly, but did hold her close, rocking back and forth and running clawed fingers through navy hair in a soothing manner. It was an immense comfort, and within minutes the distressed teenager had calmed enough that she was simply hiccupping and breathing raggedly after very little time had passed. “Please, get me out of here, get me out of here,” was all she could say in a small whimper, and she was almost embarrassed by how pathetic she sounded - the future queen of the water beings, and here she was, crying like a baby in the arms of the desert sorceress. The knowledge of the fact that she looked far from how she was supposed to be only served to make her cry once more and even harder - the princess was absolutely miserable, feeling like she had failed her bloodline in every way possible and the tingling of past pain still running in cuts along her body.

It took nearly ten minutes for the distressed princess to calm completely, sniffling with her head leaning against her lover’s chest and a clawed hand still gently combing her hair. She greatly appreciated the presence of the other; she wasn’t entirely sure how she would be dealing with this situation if she had to do it alone. When it was certain that the royal would not continue to be in hysterics, the sorceress softly spoke. “Your mother is going to start negotiating with Yellow Diamond soon. She is going to find a way to get you out of this without having to succumb to marrying Jasper. And if she can’t, there is a backup plan. Everything is going to be fine. You’ll be out soon. I promise.”

Surprisingly strong arms wrapped around her a little tighter as if she was a teddy bear, and honestly, Lapis didn’t mind. She was comforted by the information that had been given to her - she only hoped that action would be taken soon enough for her to escape any worse pain. It was already a guarantee that she would be scarred for life by the events taking place. She would never be the same again; she knew that she would almost definitely be haunted by nightmares, flashes of yellow and agony and mildewy walls haunting her thoughts whenever she tried to rest.

All she could really do was hope that Peridot would still be there all throughout her life to help her through it. Stars knew that she would be unable to handle it on her own; she feared isolation and being forgotten enough as was, and it was only getting worse the more she was left alone with her developing trauma and poisonous mind in the dungeon.

For now, all she could manage was sniffling slightly and trying to relax in her sorceress’ hold. Their time together as long as she was held captive was limited. “They knew I was healed,” she spoke softly in a voice made hoarse by her fits of crying. “They tried to get me to tell them who it was, because apparently the one person who knows healing spells wasn’t an obvious enough choice,” the sarcasm in her voice was mainly to reassure herself and Peridot that she hadn’t been completely lost to the tortures she had been living through. “I wouldn’t tell them. But I think it is too dangerous for you to continue healing me - your life is put in danger every time, and she won’t kill me. I’m necessary for her merger from hell, and she won’t get it if I’m dead.”

“But Lapis, if they know somebody is healing you, then clearly they aren’t going to hesitate to maim you because they know it won’t last long. And - I can’t let you be in pain for longer than absolutely necessary. I  _ won’t. _ And if… if she figures out that she isn’t going to get exactly what she wants, or she loses patience with Blue Diamond…” Peridot went silent, but Lapis could tell from the way her hold tightened and she began shaking that she was referring to her death.

She should have been afraid of the fact that her fate would be so easily cut short by the temper of an unpredictable queen. She should have been saddened because she knew that her mother was stubborn and would never settle for less than what she had originally bargained for. Hell, maybe she should have even been angry that her life was nothing more than a replaceable bargaining chip. But instead of all of the logical options, a strange and bitter sort of acceptance came over her - her life was losing value in her own eyes, the only thing keeping her going and surviving being the sorceress, and even that relationship was doomed to fail by the circumstances handed to them. Peridot had claimed that their romance had their mother’s support, but really, her own people would be angry that their princess had been sneaking around behind her back and Yellow Diamond would undoubtedly be enraged that one of the most valuable members of her court had defected to the southern kingdom.

“Let them kill me, then,” she spoke in a casual tone, almost with a spark of chipperness and dry humor underneath it. “It would be better than living with all of the bullshit side effects to what I’m being put through. I’ve seen prisoners of war. It’s not pretty.”

Lapis knew almost instantly that she had said the wrong thing, because the sorceress tensed against her and held her even closer as if afraid that she would disappear at any moment. The princess let out a disgruntled little noise at having her oxygen supply suddenly be cut, but she was… oddly honored by the younger girl’s protectiveness over her. She wasn’t worthy of it - she never had been - but it was a great comfort to know that she was wanted, perhaps even needed. “Please don’t talk like that,” the enchantress spoke softly, in a voice that almost sounded close to tears. “I know things are hard, and I know they’re going to continue to be hard, but you’re strong and resilient and fucking  _ Lapis Lazuli. _ You can power through this and you can power through everything that comes after, and I’ll help you, okay? Whether or not you want me to be, I will be by your side, cheering you on and helping you in whatever way I can. I promise. You’ll never be alone.”

Proof Peridot was a sorceress aside from all of the spell casting stuff; she knew exactly what to say at the moment to ease Lapis’ monophobia and make her emotional again. It was either magic or the fact that they had been meeting in secret and getting to know each other for two years. The sorceress had to bite down tears, wrapping her arms against her lover and burying her face against the front of her nightgown, body shuddering with the tension that came with holding back sobs.

Silence surrounded them for several moments before the princess finally pulled away slightly in order to study her lover’s face, soft fingers caressing one green cheek before kissing Peridot tenderly. It wasn’t particularly passionate, but it was loving, it was a promise, it was perfect for the circumstances currently surrounding them. Neither particularly wanted to pull apart, feeling like they would be separated forever if the kiss was to end, but the need for oxygen was what finally forced their lips to separate. Lapis gently traced her love’s lips with her fingertips, feeling a rush of mixed emotions with the realization that she was so fucking  _ in love _ that all of this was almost worth it if it meant that she would end up with Peridot in the end instead of some arranged marriage to a brute she had despised on all brief occasions she had met her.

“I love you,” she murmured softly, resting her forehead against the hybrid’s.

“And I love you,” her beloved responded, giving her one more soft and chaste peck on the lips. Soon, they would need to separate so that Peridot could avoid capture - but for the moment, they were determined to make what time they had pleasant, if for no other reason than to give themselves and each other hope that everything would turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lesbians™


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #SaveLapis2k16.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOO BOY THIS ONE'S A LONG ONE. It's over 4,000 words long. I intended to have this up yesterday but. It's LOOOONG.

“We were a little too rough on her. I don’t think we’re going to be getting that merger,” Yellow Diamond spoke as she walked down the corridor, and Peridot’s heart stopped beating in her chest.

Panic spread rather quickly and easily through her body, the sorceress barely able to restrain herself as the queen walked towards her quarters with her head held high - due to the roaring of her blood in her ears she couldn’t hear her bragging about how she had frustrated Blue Diamond so thoroughly or how easily she had been able to break the princess once she started putting effort in. All she could focus on was bolting down the grand staircase the moment she heard a door close, teleportation spells jetting her forward even quicker every few feet. By the time she reached the tall black door that she knew held her lover, she was very nearly in hysterics, and did not have the self control required to calmly open the door - she slammed it open with all the strength in her body, wheezing at the overexertion in her body but not feeling any of the exhaustion due to the immense and overwhelming amount of adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Lapis was lying still in a corner of the dirty cell, her blue skin closer to the color of powder than the color of the sky and a worryingly large puddle of golden blood pooling around her. For a moment, Peridot thought she was already dead and was prepared to collapse and scream and cry and mourn - but then she noticed that the princess’ chest was rising and falling, albeit very subtly and softly. She was still breathing, she was alive, there was still time to save her. The sorceress could only pray that she had gotten there soon enough that there would be no lasting consequences for her lover.

The spell was shakily uttered, her hands shaking badly as she carefully rested them against Lapis’ warm and injured body. She was barely recognizable - she looked so small, so vulnerable, she was twisted in a strange position and there was blood - so much blood - Peridot wasn’t squeamish, but she could never remember a time when she had seen so much blood, let alone belonging to somebody she loved. In the back of her mind, she realized that something about this was eerily familiar, a deep rooted sort of deja vu that made it even harder to bite down a sob and complete meltdown.

No. She needed to keep calm. She needed to successfully perform the spell, or Lapis would die - surprisingly enough, notifying herself of the gravity of the situation only made her more hysterical and did nothing to relax her. The sorceress forced several shuddering and shallow breaths, her entire body shaking and trembling as she gathered her lover up into her arms and held her despite the massive amounts of golden liquid leaking out of the wounds and inevitably staining her dress. She didn’t care that she was going to be found out. She didn’t care that it would mean certain death. No life was worth living if Lapis was not at her side - perhaps that revelation was unhealthy, but Peridot was mourning, and she couldn’t particularly bring herself to give half of a fuck.

It was a noise from her lover that broke her out of it - she couldn’t tell exactly what it was Lapis meant to say, but she could make out that it was something pained, and desperate. She spluttered out a few apologies before pulling the princess closer and murmuring the incantation she knew painfully well - if the spell didn’t succeed, at least the older girl would die in the arms of a loved one and not on the dirty floor of the cell. The moment she finished speaking, a choked sob left her, and she buried her face in the front of her love’s tattered and bloodstained dress.

She was vaguely aware that Lapis had moved slightly, her back arching at the burning sensation that went along with the healing. Silently, she begged herself to remain cool and collected, to be the most comforting lover in existence because it was the princess that had been through such a traumatic experience and watching her bleed out was nowhere  _ near _ that.

But the moment she felt thin arms wrap around her, Peridot was sobbing like a baby, squeezing her lover as tightly as she possibly could and rocking the both of them back and forth. She was in some extreme distress, unable to fully fathom the fact that Lapis had just had a near death experience and that, god, she had just almost watched her take her very last breaths. The sorceress couldn’t tell if she was happy that the older girl had survived or desperately miserable that she was even in this situation - it was an extremely distressing mix between the two, and she just couldn’t bring herself to calm down.

“I’m scared,” she heard Lapis murmur almost silently, and it took all of her willpower to not start sobbing hysterically again. She wasn’t used to the princess being like a small child; it was far more common for her to be the calm, collected, serene, and professional one. That was what she had been trained to be since birth, after all, and that must have taken a lot of fear and pain to overcome.

Peridot was doing her best to be supportive and brave and encouraging, by God, she was. The sorceress was still trembling, sucking in wheezing breaths and clinging to her lover as though she were a comfort blanket, but at least she was no longer crying and on the edge of a panic attack. As calmly as she could, she pressed her lips against her lover’s hairline. “I know. I’m going to get you out of here. I promise,” she murmured in a voice she hoped was more confident and badass than she felt - if it sounded as her emotions did, then she probably wasn’t very reassuring at all.

“Tonight?,” her princess asked hopefully, blinking at her with wide blue eyes; Peridot wanted to say yes, god, did she want to, but she was well aware that pulling off a successful breakout would be far more difficult and require far more planning than grabbing the princess and making a run for it. She did the math silently in her head - most of the time, if someone was killed in the dungeons, they would be left to start decaying for two nights and two days, and under the cover of night was the wisest time to try to stage an escape from the castle anyway.

“Tomorrow night,” Peridot promised, holding her lover a little tighter. “They’ll leave you alone so long as you don’t make it obvious you’re still alive - they always let the bodies sit a little while as an example to others. I will make sure everything is in place today, and tomorrow I will come down here and get you out. I swear it on my life. And then you’ll never be hurt again. I will see to it that you are kept safe, alive, and happy, and that none shall bring you any harm.”

She was expecting Lapis to say something about not needing to be protected, but all she got in response was a meek little ‘thank you’ - that alone was evidence enough that this was taking a massive toll on her. It hurt Peridot, both physically and emotionally, that her lover was being reduced to such a childlike state, her spirit broken and her body weak. The sorceress was used to seeing Lapis be the feisty and ready to go person that she had known for three years, and sometimes felt like she had always known - it felt so  _ wrong, _ seeing her broken and down like this.

“Say,” Peridot began, hoping to find some subject she could change to that Lapis would be comforted or at least a little bit relaxed by. “We’re going to be getting married once we get you out of here. We can take a while, of course, but it’s going to need to happen eventually. To carry on your bloodline and stuff. What do you think our wedding is going to be like?” She tilted her head - thinking on something so happy as a chosen marriage might do wonders for her mood, and that was something that she needed. Hell, the sorceress sort of needed it as well - she wanted to see the princess back to her usual, sarcastic and chipper self. At any cost.

“Well,” Lapis started with a small sniff, pulling out of the embrace slightly in order to lace her thin fingers in Peridot’s blonde hair, doing her best to settle the wild mane down with a small, pensive look on her face. “First, you’ll need to propose to me. Publicly is best but we can do it privately as well. Then most of the planning is going to be done by the court - the color scheme will probably be green and blue and the decorations will probably be tacky and the food will probably be way too fancy.” She scrunched her face up, tongue sticking out of her mouth slightly. “But I don’t think any of that will matter, because all we’ll really be focusing on is each other and how in love we are. We can trash talk the guests behind their backs and sneak the palace cats anything we don’t like. We can give each other kisses publicly at last, and we can have our first dances together that aren’t to invisible music.” The naiad gently took hold of her clawed hands, a smile spreading across her face at last.

“I can’t wait,” the hybrid murmured softly, gently nuzzling her lover’s cheek. She couldn’t lie - it  _ did _ sound wonderful to finally not have to hide, to be able to express her affection during an event that would bind them together for the rest of their lives. Or at least, for the rest of  _ this _ lifetime; they had a good future ahead of them, Peridot was sure of it. They would be together. They would be happy.

“Neither can I,” responded the princess, leaning her full weight against her lover, relaxing for what might have been the first time that day. Peridot was glad that she had been around to heal Lapis and make her feel better, and she could only hope that she was correct in her assumption that the princess would be left well enough alone - she would be needing her rest for when they made a run for it, after all, and the hybrid would be damned if she let anything get in the way of escorting her princess to safety once and for all.

“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?,” Lapis requested, watching her lover with wide navy blue eyes - those eyes were what betrayed her fear, her homesickness, her wish to get out, and Peridot’s heart ached. She pressed a second kiss against the princess’ forehead, drawing her close and leaning against the wall so that they could be in a somewhat comfortable position - or at least Lapis could. Peridot’s back would be aching badly come morning, but for her true love, it was worth it. She would do with a back ache the likes of which Atlas would experience if it would make her princess happy.

“Of course,” she finally responded, burying her face in her lover’s hair and lying still. She was aware that, even if Lapis wasn’t asleep, she would need to leave to rush to Blue Diamond’s castle and put a plan together soon - but she was fairly certain that, with the ordeal she had lived through, she would be out cold for the night within the hour. With a heavy sigh, she rubbed the princess’ back and leaned her head against the wall, deep in thought as she stared at the dripping ceiling and asked whatever god existed why this had to happen to them.

* * *

 

Peridot tightened the dark cloak she wore around her body and glanced around the room, watching with her lower lip worried between her teeth to see if somebody was pacing around and guarding the perimeter. Most nights, she was out and hiding in the woods by this hour; but she had lost track of time while listening to Lapis’ even breathing, a mistake she hoped wouldn’t cost her both of their lives. She needed to get her princess out of there the next night, or all hope was lost. Not onlu for their future, but for her lover’s life, and potentially even her own.

Fortunately, there were no guards pacing the grounds, though this also was a curious occurence. Normally, there would be many burly creatures pacing the desert, watching for anyone trying to sneak out or - stars rest their soul - sneak in. With her normal precautions, she’d never had to worry about it, but now that she had skipped on them her paranoia was endless… still, she reminded herself not to question a blessing, prayed that she would be quick enough to avoid anyone late for their shift, and bolted for the edge of the kingdom, the woods clear in her sight.

She slammed face first into something halfway there, at enough of a velocity that she was sent flying backwards and landed harshly on her back. The wind was knocked out of her, and she landed with a soft grunt, limbs and cloak spreading out around her.

The first emotion she felt that she could comprehend was confusion, which led way very easily to her fact finding nature taking control and bringing her to approach where she had made contact. She splayed her fingers across the invisible barrier, watching with curiosity as the force field rippled around her hands and gave off a soft green light. Next was admiration, as this was a very complicated spell she had been asked several times to mimic and had never been fully able to get right - and that paved the way very easily to rage. Did her queen bring in another, more experienced sorceress just to put up this barrier? Did she really trust the one she had so little that she needed to ensure that she would be among those unable to walk in and out of the territory?

Unfortunately, getting  _ through _ a forcefield spell was the most tricky part, in that she had no clue how to do it - especially when it came to one strong enough to hold even though she had gone barrelling into it at full speed. She had gotten very skilled at running the last few years, having needed more than once to sprint across the desert in order to make her deadline; by all means, the barrier should not have been able to withstand the force she exerted upon it. Whoever had cast this spell was very talented indeed - a full blooded witch, perhaps - and Peridot loathed to admit, but she was jealous.

She was no good at making up spells, having learned everything she knew from books, but she supposed she would need to give it a try. In the years she had spent perfecting her art, she had become fluent in the ancient language all of her spellbooks had in common, and she knew some of the basic words that she might need to reach through a forcefield. All she could hope was that she wouldn’t need to hunt down any ingredients in order to make it work - she didn’t have the sort of time needed to sprint back to her hut and retrieve thyme or catnip or whatever would be needed.

Muttering an incantation under her spell and pressing her hands against the barrier with as much might as she could, she realized with a little bit of elation that she was beginning to slowly melt through. All she could do was hope that she wouldn’t get stuck halfway - she would be executed by her queen if she didn’t die of starvation or thirst first. It was going painfully slowly, but as long as she could keep her emotions under control, then she could make it through.

When she was out all the way except for her foot, unfortunately, a sudden barrage of sparks and fire erupted from the barrier, notifying anybody that was nearby that someone had made it out of the kingdom. Her heart froze and stuttered, panic beginning to settle in - which, unfortunately, caused the barrier to suddenly tighten harshly around her foot. She was glad that it was only a stilt, because she could only imagine how much pain she would be in if it was her actual skin and bone that was currently trapped. Cursing quietly, she reached for her leg and untied the stilt, breaking herself free and sending the rest of her stumbling to the ground.

Unless she could fashion a new one while she was in the woods, she had just left behind a crucial piece of evidence that could and would be used against her when it came time to murder her for treason. She swallowed quickly as she heard barreling footsteps headed her way, secured her hood tightly over her head, and made a limping run for the treeline. Thank the stars, what was meant to keep people like her in was also keeping the guards in the kingdom.

Once she was safe under the cover of the woods, she swallowed thickly and untied the other stilt, letting it rest among the underbrush. She felt very vulnerable without the extra few inches, but she would probably feel more vulnerable limping her way through the underbrush, or so she told herself. Every little noise around her added an extra layer of fear on her already overwhelmed chest, and it took all of her strength to keep moving forward and press on - for Lapis, for Lapis, for Lapis.

When she finally reached the softened blue light of the southern kingdom and heard the sounds of fountains roaring and mermaids chatting, she nearly cried from relief. This seaside territory was becoming more of a home to her than the desert kingdom she had been raised in - perhaps it was the more cultured and sheltered atmosphere, or the fact that only a couple of selkies guarded the palace walls and would allow those they recognized as trusted allies of Blue Diamond inside. They moved away to allow her through without question, and the sorceress couldn’t help but compare it to the excessive amounts of inquisition and examination she went through to see Yellow Diamond.

Walking up the stairs of the palace was oddly therapeutic, whether it be for the constant rushing of the water or the knowledge that she was safe for the moment. Either way, her heart rate had calmed down exceedingly by the time she reached the floors with the quarters and walked to the door that she knew belonged to the queen of the southern kingdom. It was left ajar, as it always was, with Blue Diamond herself resting in the chair in the center. Peridot was strangely honored that a monarch had stayed awake until two in the morning for a meeting with a lowly sorceress, but considering that the fate of the princess and the future of the kingdom were at stake, she supposed she didn’t blame her.

“My Diamond,” she greeted with more calm than she might have thought possible a few hours ago, genuflecting before the queen - she still felt it was a little odd to do that for any matriarch but Yellow Diamond, but she had sworn away her loyalties to her own queen. “I think it would be best to relocate Lapis Lazuli into the college you notified me of before tomorrow night. She was pushed to the point that Yellow Diamond was convinced that she was about to die, and I barely managed to get to her in time. In accordance with the treatment of prisoners’ corpses, she should be left alone tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night, and the following day. It would be wisest to - to escape with her under the cover of night. Unfortunately, there is currently a barrier set in place around the perimeter of the kingdom, and I was forced to leave one of my stilts behind - I am not currently welcome back in the kingdom and may not be for a long, long time, possibly the rest of my life.”

Calm and cold silence came from the queen for close to a minute before she finally nodded. “I thought you looked shorter,” she spoke simply, glancing momentarily at the window - possibly at the silhouette of the other castle against the dark blue of the sky. “Peridot, it is up to you to get into that palace. I will be able to send a soldier or a messenger with you in order to escort you and create a distraction, but you must get through the barrier and retrieve my daughter on your own.”

The sorceress blanched, more than a little afraid of the concept of getting into the dungeon on her own. She knew her way around the kingdom, yes, and as with Blue Diamond’s castle there were some secret passageways around the unguarded perimeters in case of emergency; but none of them led directly to the prison, all of them more towards the kitchen and the bedrooms. None who broke the law were given the same guarantee of survival when it came to getting out of a fire or a terrorist attack; they were all traitors and thieves, so why would they?

Still, she was formulating a plan in the back of her head to get to Lapis and escort her out of the palace through the halls that were least supervised. She was getting used to taking risks, and whether that was a good thing or a bad thing she honestly didn’t care. Whatever got the princess out safely and in a timely manner; it was beginning to be the only thing she considered important. Hopefully her strength would be back up on time to make a run for it into the woods without stopping.

“I can and will get her to safety,” she vowed, becoming more confident with the promise the more she formulated a plan in her mind. “If I can, I would like to stay hidden here for the day so that I can work on perfecting a couple of spells and perhaps do some research. I will be ready to go to Yellow Diamond’s palace as soon as the sun has set tomorrow night. Should I take Lapis directly here, or should I go directly to the cabin instead?”

“You may stay in Lapis’ room, the last one in the hall,” Blue Diamond spoke in a tone that was still eerily calm, and Peridot wasn’t sure if she was more terrified or frustrated with her for it. “Practice your magic as much as you wish, and there is a library on the ground floor that you may have access to - I’m not sure how many spellbooks are there, since we haven’t needed a sorceress in many hundreds of years, but you are free to look. I will send a foot soldier to escort you fifteen minutes after sunset, so I would suggest you be ready then. When you have my daughter out of the dungeon, escort her directly to the cabin - I do not want her to be directly in the open and at risk of being attacked again, because sending her into hiding after stealing her back from Yellow Diamond is bound to start a war.”

Anxiety pounded in Peridot’s chest at the knowledge that the queen expected a war, but she had been raised not to question direct orders; so instead of trying to question for more information, she simply nodded and bowed, hoping silently that she would be able to pull this off without a hitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this fic is almost over :')


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis has a run in with the mysterious other magic user.
> 
> WARNING FOR TORTURE IN THIS CHAPTER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> love you lappy <3

Lapis did not like sitting helplessly and waiting to be saved. It was degrading, it was humiliating, it made her feel like she was a weakling with no hope of survival on her own. It didn’t matter to her how true it was given the current circumstances; she wasn’t supposed to walk, she was having trouble recovering from her brutal beating, she wasn’t sleeping for fear of moving around in her sleep and blowing her cover. Her head was spinning and she felt like she was going to be sick; she was so tired, both physically and mentally, and all she wanted was to get out of here. She wished there was water nearby that she could use to blast her way out of here, that she wasn’t so beaten down and injured; that she could do  _ anything _ to stop being a sitting duck and a damsel in distress.

She sighed heavily, lightly resting her head against the cold stone wall of her cell and closing her eyes, attempting to lose herself in thought. She tried to make herself feel better by thinking of Peridot, of how good the fresh air would feel against her skin and in her lungs, of how beautiful and touching their wedding would be after things got sorted out. All of those things were within reach, so long as she didn’t give herself away and survived the next several hours of waiting.

Pain and suffering aside, she was bored out of her mind. With nothing to stimulate her mind except for stones to count and the occasional drop of water to listen to, Lapis was being forced to use her imagination to fill the minutes; which might not have been so bad if eighty percent of her thoughts were not occupied with her longing for the sweet release of death. Even with a positive future just within reach, the naiad longed for everything to stop and for her soul to be enveloped in calm; she supposed that was probably the fault of her boredom combining with the knowledge that she would have to live with a fucked psyche for the rest of her life.

If there weren’t guards stationed at every edge of this castle - if the kingdom was as generally peaceful and relaxed as her own - then she probably would have broken out by now. Hell, if she had been to Yellow Diamond’s kingdom beforehand and had a vague idea of the geography she would have broken out by now. But as it stood, she was painfully aware of her own boundaries; she was battered and weakened by the blood loss she had lived through, she was massively outnumbered as she was in the forest, and she didn’t have any clue where she would go if she managed to free herself. She would just have to wait patiently for now, hoping that Peridot knew what she was doing and slowly losing her sanity to the isolation and being stuck alone with nothing but her thoughts.

She almost preferred the torture. At least then her mind wasn’t going into overdrive reminding her how useless, helpless, and trapped she was. At least then she had something to think about and concentrate on that wasn’t essentially a self destruct button, even if it was simply the pain and how much she wanted it to go away. And at least then, she had a guarantee that her suffering would go away, as soon as Peridot came to the dungeon with her healing words and warm embrace and comforting whispers. She didn’t think there was a cure for how much her own brain was making her suffer; she was fairly certain, from watching the few veterans of war in her kingdom, that there was no way around the mental consequences that came from traumatic situations.

Lapis sighed heavily, ready to continue wallowing in self pity for the next several hours, until she heard the soft clacking of heels on the cold stone floor of the dungeon’s halls. She swallowed down the panic that immediately settled into her throat, closing her eyes and playing dead once more; she thought there were other prisoners here, judging by the occasional quieted whispering or screams that would come from other cells down the dark hall in the middle of the night, so she could only hope that the person that had just entered the dungeon was aiming to visit and harm one of them.

Unfortunately, when the footsteps stopped just before her cell and the yellow glow of a lantern filtered through the bars and hit her face, she became aware that wasn’t the case. All she could do was slow her breathing further, hoping that all signs of life were undetectable from the distance and whoever it was wouldn’t enter the cell. Despite her heart racing in her chest with all the speed of a hummingbird and her pulse pounding in her ears, she thought she was doing a fairly good job; all she needed to do was deprive herself of the amount of oxygen she needed until the stranger went away.

“I know you’re alive in there,” a rather nasally voice spoke simply, and whatever part of Lapis that hadn’t been panicking before was certainly panicking now. She had to choke down the desire to open her mouth and start wheezing and shaking, telling herself that this person was only trying to get a reaction out of her. The heavy metal door of the cell squeaked open and the heels clacked towards her; within moments, the princess could feel a presence looming over her.

“Oh, drop the act,” the woman spoke again, kneeling down closer to her level - or at least, that was what she assumed with her voice getting a little louder and nearer. “I can see your chest moving, and I can feel your heartbeat. I’m not planning on hurting you.” The person seemed to stand up again as she spoke, and Lapis let a moment pass without a word. This seemed to have been a bad decision, as a foot connected rather violently with her side as a result, and it took most of her willpower to not react. “I know you’re not sleeping or dead. I’m here to let you know that I can let you out right now and escort you to the edge of the woods without Yellow Diamond knowing a thing - but only if you tell me the name of the being that’s been coming down and helping you. There’s a reward for anybody that can give their identity to the queen. A reward that could buy my freedom… and yours.”

The princess only opened her eyes out of bitterness - this person already knew that she was living, so there was no point in keeping up the performance anyway. She was mildly surprised to find that a lowly servant stood before her - the yellow pearl, judging by the stone on the pendant that hung to her chest. Her surprise gave way to pity; pearls were generally pampered for the sake of keeping up appearances, even if they weren’t treated like actual people, and her own seemed to enjoy being Blue Diamond’s personal assistant more than anything else in the world. Her pity, however, quickly gave way to bitterness. She wasn’t going to betray Peridot. She would give away the information demanded of her by Yellow Diamond before she even uttered a syllable of her sorceress’ name. Peridot was too important; she was intelligent and talented, and Lapis loved her more than she loved anything else in the known universe. It would take far more pain than a lowly pearl could dish out to force her to snitch on her lover; the hybrid she genuinely believed to be her soulmate, judging by the memories she was regaining from what she assumed to be a former life.

“I’m not telling you shit,” she practically spat, but couldn’t bring herself to sound as badass as she wanted to. Her voice was hoarse and weak from screaming and pain, and her exhaustion came out as clear as day through her tone. It probably sounded as though she would willingly give away any information asked of her with just the slightest amount of prompting; and what scared her was that her willpower was broken enough that excessive pain just might do it. She had been through a lot in the last several days; more than any nineteen year old should have to.

Yellow Pearl tsked slightly and crossed her arms over her chest, watching Lapis carefully for several eerily silent moments. She seemed to be questioning what to do about this situation; like she hadn’t been expecting a no. “A shame,” she finally commented with a shake of her head, holding one hand in front of her. “I was hoping that this would be easy. I don’t want to have to do this to you, princess. I was really hoping that you would cooperate and this could be done without bloodshed and with both of us benefited. But at least now I won’t have to betray my diamond by releasing her most valuable prisoner and will actually be able to remain in the kingdom.”

Lapis was about to question what she meant, but before she even realized what was going on she was swept off the floor by strong magic and slammed against the wall, knocking the wind out of her. The cuffs that had restrained her before tightened around her wrists and burned so that they would be set that way until broken, and the princess was barely even able to comprehend that a servant had learned such  a powerful level of magic before she was suddenly on fire.

Pain coursed through her veins like someone had poured molten iron into her heart - but perhaps that would have been more merciful, because it would kill her quickly. She was too shocked to cry out until it faded to electricity, making her scream and writhe against the stone wall. She had been through immense physical pain since being captured by Yellow Diamond’s army, but at least that had all been external and caused by blunt objects or sharp knives; for magic to be used against her for the pure purpose of agony was the most excruciating thing she had been through in her life.

It ended mercifully quickly, leaving her slumped and wheezing, very near tears but trying her best to keep her dignity intact. The pearl approached after that, standing before her with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. She didn’t seem to regret the pain she was causing at all, regardless of how she claimed she wished it wasn’t necessary; was the yellow kingdom really so brutal that mere servants were completely apathetic to the agony they caused? “Are you ready to talk yet, or are you going to need some more convincing?,” she inquired in a casual tone that made Lapis want to punch her.

“Torture me all you want, you’re never getting a name from me,” the princess growled, dark blue eyes glaring daggers into the pearl’s face. The apathetic frown she received in response made her very nearly cower against the wall in fear, but she did her best to save face, her determination to protect her lover and whatever shreds of dignity remained in her composure far stronger than the longing to be without pain. She wasn’t going to say a word, and if she had to die to keep that vow, so be it.

Yellow Pearl gave her a look of pity, shaking her head with a heavy sigh and raising her hands again. “I’m not going to leave until I have an answer. Whatever comfort it is, you won’t die by my hand. I’ll leave that to my diamond.” She clucked her tongue, frown deepening. “I’m going to give you another chance; who is it that has been coming down and healing you after every torture session? Who is a traitor to the monarchy of Yellow Diamond?”

Lapis gave only a glare in response, and the painful searing magic coursed through her veins once more within moments. She cried out in agony, bracing herself against the stone wall as much as she could and praying that it would end soon, that somebody would come and save her. Her mind battled with itself over whether she wanted for the pain to end or whether she wanted a guarantee of Peridot’s safety - she was being torn apart, both by the pain of the magic and by the battle of the wills going on within her psyche.

The guarantee that she wouldn’t die by Yellow Pearl’s hand did not comfort her.

She craved the sweet release that death would bring her, more than all else.

* * *

 

“Peridot! Her name is Peridot!”

It had taken over four hours for the princess to finally lose her willpower, and the moment the name had escaped her lips, the painful grip of the spell left her. She was left slumped against the wall, sobbing pathetically; both from the overwhelming agony of the magic and from shame at having practically sentenced her lover to death. She didn’t care much that she was crying in front of the nymph that had tortured her. She didn’t care about anything anymore. She had only wanted the pain to stop.

“I should have guessed,” the servant responded, shaking her head slightly and studying Lapis with what seemed to be faked pity. The princess wished that she could stop crying, wished that she could regain what dignity she had lost; but she couldn’t seem to make the tears stop streaming from her eyes. Naiads had many tears to shed, being nymphs of the water, and the few times Lapis allowed herself to break down it rarely stopped so quickly. “It’s a shame that you didn’t cooperate with me the first time I asked. You might be on your way home by now. Tell me, Lazuli, is she going to come back? She hasn’t been seen anywhere in the kingdom all day.”

“I don’t know,” the naiad lied, but it took mere seconds of her nerves being overcome by pain again for her to speak quickly once more. “Yes! Yes! I think she’s coming back sometime tonight!,” she screamed in a voice barely decipherable, and when she was released again she was sobbing even harder. Any words she managed to come up with after that would probably be nonsensical. Whether she hated herself or every fucking person associated with the western kingdom more was a fair contest.

“I’ll just have to wait for her in the shadows then,” Yellow Pearl commented simply, glancing around as if memorizing the cell - like she hadn’t already. In an attempt to make some sort of effort towards fighting back, Lapis attempted to swing herself forward and kick the servant while she was distracted; unfortunately, all she could manage to do was graze her side before her legs were forcibly thrown backwards by powerful magic and slammed into the stone of the wall.

She heard at least one of her bones crack and break, but probably because of the insane pain tolerance she had built up in the last few days or because of the complete numbness that had settled over her chest and mind she didn’t feel a thing. It did, however, reassure her that she had absolutely no hope of fighting back and accomplishing any sort of breaking free, so she simply went limp in her cuffs and hoped that everything would turn out alright. She supposed that if she could find some source of water, then she could accomplish something; but since this castle was in the middle of a desert, it would take a pretty large amount of using her ability to locate any deep underground or perhaps from a nearby oasis.

Lapis watched cautiously as the servant glanced around once more and took her place in one of the far corners of the cell, where she would be invisible from the entrance and would certainly have no trouble ambushing anybody that decided to enter. Yellow Pearl seated herself in that corner and pulled a small book from one of her pockets, using a spell as a light source as she began to read. She was distracted, which was good; that way, she wouldn’t be able to see the royal enter a state of deep meditation and use her link to the water to find some source. She would probably appear to be asleep while concentrating, which would benefit her massively and allow her to search without any suspicion as to what she was doing - especially since the pearl seemed to be overly cocky with her newfound information and powerful magic. Perhaps too arrogant to know she could fail.

The princess’ only hope was that she would be able to locate a water source before Peridot could arrive. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her power, going far underground and in all directions - she had never needed to use this particular ability outside of simple lessons on how to do it, so she was largely lucky that it came with the package of being a naiad and instinct was largely guiding her. It didn’t take long for her to get lost in the motions, mind swept away by the intense focus that was required; all that she could really see were the long paths leading her towards water sources.

She didn’t know how long it took to locate them, but she did eventually find some freshwater resources deep underneath the castle. Once she had located them, it was only a matter of drawing a river from that source upwards, attempting to pool it just underneath her so she could grab hold and form a water fist, allowing her to gain an upper hand in any fight within seconds.

Unfortunately, her concentration was broken when she heard a shocked gasp from just outside of her cell. Her head immediately jerked upward, and she found herself staring into the bright green eyes of her lover; she could only momentarily appreciate that Peridot was alive and nearby before she thought to warn her of the ambush bound to come.

“Don’t come near me, it’s a trap!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok before u think to flame me for yp being ooc please remember that we've seen like 10 seconds of her onscreen and we have no idea of her motives or real personality and also she was the first character that came to mind without the possibility of villainizing the crystal gems or including any of my ocs, which i would have loved to do but didn't want to include for any major roles in the story


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter that takes place less than a minute later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY I SUCK

Peridot didn’t like sitting and doing research while she knew for a fact that Lapis was in danger and she could probably do something about it. She regretted not breaking the princess out of the prison the previous night; that probably would have been more beneficial to both of their health, considering she hadn’t gotten any sleep due to her anxiety and there was a very real possibility that the naiad could be found out and tortured again. But she supposed she needed to play the cards she had been given, so she had been seated alone in the southern kingdom’s library for the past several hours, doing research on spells that would remove magical barriers and incantations that would help her fight if it came to that.

A glance out the window told her that the sun was getting low in the sky. She would need to leave the southern territory soon - her life had been irrevocably changed at this point already, but soon she would need to abandon the entirety of her society, turn her back on an ages old system and dive headfirst directly into the unknown. Anxiety pounded in her chest, and she swallowed thickly; she almost didn’t want to, almost wanted to stay in the quiet safety of Blue Diamond’s castle until she eventually withered away and died or until Yellow Diamond was rotting six feet underground.

But she couldn’t do that. She had to hurry up and get over it so she could free Lapis from the dungeon and get her to safety - and so that she could liberate herself from the lifetime of stress and anxiety she had suffered through due to her excessive conditioning and the strict ruling as well. She  _ needed _ to get through everything that she needed to do, and she needed to make sure that she had all the materials and spells ready to utter at a moment’s notice. There would be no surprises. The plan would go smoothly, and everything would be fine.

She had confidence leaving the castle. She had confidence walking past the grounds and the guards on duty there. Her head was held high and she strode with grace and readiness, sack of herbs strung over her shoulder and a determined look on her face. She was prepared, and she was at least seventy percent sure that everything would go well. She hadn’t spent the day researching for nothing, after all! She was going to turn out alright, and so was Lapis, for that matter.

However, by the time she had crossed the clearing and entered the woods belonging to her native kingdom, her confidence began to fade. The heavy footsteps stomping around and shouting at each other, breaking leaves and barking commands back and forth, certainly did nothing to help; they were out looking for whoever had made a run for it, that much was certain, and it was  _ her. _ Peridot was genuinely terrified for her life, as any sane person would be, and it took most if not all of her effort to keep pressing forward in search of the edge of the woods and the barrier she now knew how to cross with ease if she could do so out of sight and safely.

Ducking around the guards and soldiers in the woods was easy, as the trees were old and tall and gnarled and she could duck behind them with no problem, offering temporary cover until she could sprint to the next one. Only the harpies, with the faces of gnarled women and their defensive stances hovering above in the trees, were witness to her sneaking. They didn’t make her so nervous - her intentions were good enough, in her humble opinion, to get herself through any test that could be thrown at her. Even if not, any death that they could dish out would be far less long and painful than what would surely be waiting for her should Yellow Diamond get her hands on her.

Once, she swore that one of the soldiers had gotten too close only to be grabbed and have his throat slit by one of the bird women, his corpse carried upwards into the canopy to be devoured. But she didn’t know - she couldn’t look back, she needed to focus on moving forward. That was the only way she could go now, the only thing she could think of herself doing. There were no other options; she was too far to even think of turning around, and the more time she dillydallied the more danger her lover was in.

Luck seemed to be on her side, as she managed to duck to the barrier and murmur the incantation she had so faithfully memorized, hearing with smugness the force field separating her from her kingdom dissolve with a soft buzzing noise. She stepped through the hole she had created and into the clear night sky, hearing the familiar sound of dead grass crunching underneath her feet and staring ahead of her at the empty field leading to the desert castle and village.

This was it. She’d made it; all the way from Blue Diamond’s castle and to the territory in which she had been born and raised. It caused an odd pain in her chest, knowing that this was her home and she was no longer welcome; she had a bounty over her head, even if it was unknown that she was the perpetrator at this point, and every step she made was towards danger and potential death.

But if she was going to die, at least she could do it fighting for a life she wanted.

She froze when she noticed a beam of light shining into her area, and broke into a sprint, completely forgoing any caution that she’d had previously. It was with a grimace that she realized that she’d been doing an awful lot of running recently, and she wondered if this would be the worst punishment that she got. She hoped so, because her lungs and legs were burning and she didn’t think she could handle anything more.

Once inside the castle, stealth came easy. She knew these halls, knew the twists and turns in the architecture that would hide her in nooks and crannies if it came to that and would take her right to the dungeons. A small sense of security settled over her as she began moving towards the basement; once she was walking down the stairs, she was certain that she was no longer in any danger, that it would be easy from here on out because certainly she could just teleport with Lapis back to the barrier.

What she wasn’t expecting to see her lover dangling from the wall by her wrists, looking to be in deep pain and deep concentration. Peridot was in shock for several moments, and it wasn’t until she finally took a step forward that the princess snapped to attention, and the sorceress could barely make out that she was warning her about a trap before she felt a burst of strong magic shoving her back against the wall. The sack of materials fell from her hand, herbs scattering across the damp stone floor, and at first all she could think was that she was upset about the vegetation being soiled.

The next thing that crossed her mind was that she was currently being attacked by whoever made the barrier that had gotten her into trouble the previous night. The hit hadn’t really been a hard one, and she hadn’t broken or slammed anything vital, so she pushed herself into her elbows, urging herself to get up quickly and fight back. Before she could completely rise to her feet, though, she was hit by another strong burst of magic, sent stumbling forward once more and landing sprawled. She was terrified, but part of her was also annoyed; why did this have to happen? Couldn’t things just have gone smoothly and without a hitch, bringing herself and Lapis to safety easily?

She made another attempt to get up, but found that she was being restrained to the ground by the same spell that had knocked her backwards. She noticed momentarily that there was a very real possibility that she was about to die at the hands of somebody she hadn’t even been able to see yet, and that panic was enough to make her utter a spell under her breath, causing her attacker to become dizzy and disoriented and breaking the magic holding her down.

Peridot forced herself to roll to her feet, quickly gathering the herbs that she had found back into their sack, trying to do so before the other caster could recover. Her next thought was to turn and face the other… becoming more than a little startled and confused when faced with one of the servants from the castle. Yellow Pearl was dazed, but still found it in her to glare at the sorceress, attempting to fire a beam of yellow magic at her only for it to hit the wall between herself and Lapis.

Lapis. She needed to get her down, that was the entire reason she had returned. Maybe she could do this without hurting anybody. Quickly, praying that the spell wouldn’t wear off, she stood on the tips of her toes and murmured an incantation under her breath that would break apart the metal; her lover leaned against her slightly, and it took most of Peridot’s willpower to not pull her into an embrace and reassure her. She needed to move fast and get out of there.

However, before she could accomplish much of anything, she was violently wrenched from the older girl and tossed back against a wall with a soft grunt. “You fucking traitor,” Yellow Pearl spat, evidently knocked out of her daze and with a single hand outstretched. “Why can’t you just accept your death? You’re a traitor to Yellow Diamond and to the kingdom you were born and trained for.” She flicked her wrist, and before Peridot even realized what was going on she had been flung against the opposite wall, hitting next to Lapis with a short cry. She was startled by the force and, by extension, the power she had been thrown with - not even she could throw things that hard with her magic, and she had been practicing it for almost all of her life. “You disobeyed Yellow Diamond and put our entire kingdom at risk so, what, you could romance the bratty princess of Blue Diamond’s court? You’re a disgrace.”

“Less of a disgrace than someone who ambushes her opponent, you fucking  _ canary,” _ Peridot hissed in response, wracking her brain for any spells she could remember. She didn’t want to hurt the servant, per se, but she was beginning to become aware that she would be unable to leave with her life if she were to let the other caster go unharmed.

She murmured an incantation under her breath, willing her energy forward in order to shove on the back of Yellow Pearl’s legs and send her sprawling backwards. The servant landed on her back, and Peridot quickly shoved forward again, pinning the other to the ground. It wasn’t a very strong spell, but it would do for the moment, and the sorceress quickly turned back to Lapis in order to continue freeing her. The princess seemed to be only partially conscious, meditating or something like that, and while the younger woman was certain that she had very good reasoning she couldn’t help but be annoyed.

Another burst of strong magic sent her skidding, and she nearly collided with the wall once more before being suddenly stopped and risen into the air. She squeaked in fright and aimed a powerful burst of green energy at Yellow Pearl’s feet, but the servant quickly stepped out of the way, slamming Peridot into the ground with enough force that the wind was knocked out of her and she could hear rather than feel one or two of her ribs cracking.

She grimaced and pulled herself to her feet, muttering a spell and shoving Yellow Pearl to the ground again. Now more focused on incapacitating the servant than anything else (she would only be caught off guard and injured again if she dared try to free Lapis once more),  she put her best efforts towards remembering the many spells she had memorized over several hours. She was prepared, she had been learning magic longer, and she had a better intention. In the books, good always beats out evil, so she was fairly certain that it would end up that way.

But this wasn’t a book. And her actions  _ were _ probably going to completely dismantle an ancient structure of living and handling politics. And she  _ was _ fighting against a magic user that seemed to be more powerful than she was.

The hybrid shook her head and grit her teeth, clenching her fists and taking a step forward. A blast of yellow energy was directed her way, but she sidestepped it and countered with her own. Peridot noticed with a small amount of smugness that the servant was sent falling backwards, and immediately followed up with a slightly stronger spell to hold her still for a little while.

Confident that she had time, the sorceress rushed over to the princess and muttered under her breath, successfully breaking the chains and taking Lapis into her arms. She was still in her partially conscious state, and no matter how many times Peridot murmured to her she would not respond. She sighed heavily, nearly forgetting about the other caster as she wrapped one of her lover’s arms around her shoulder and did her best to support her out of the cell.

Only to be tackled from the side, barely avoiding landing on top of Lapis and having a very aggravated servant pin her down. She tried to fight back, but was physically exhausted, and rendered almost useless when thin hands wrapped around her neck, squeezing her throat and making her unable to breathe. She gasped, fought and scratched at Yellow Pearl’s arms, but she could feel herself losing strength, her consciousness slipping away with every moment she went without air. She tried to croak for help, but she could barely even hear her own voice, her eyes closing as she slowly succumbed to the darkness surrounding her mind.

The first thing she could register moments later was that she could suck in a wheezing breath, color returning to her face; then she noticed the powerful hand of water restraining Yellow Pearl to the opposite wall. Peridot blinked and glanced back, finding that Lapis had risen to her feet and used her ability to burst a hole through the floor and push her back. A small amount of gratefulness swelled in the sorceress’ chest, but she willed herself to get up, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to run with the servant on their tails. She sprinted over to the restrained pearl and reached her hand out, only to be interrupted by the words spat at her.

“You’re disgusting and selfish. I don’t think you even considered what you were doing - you’re causing irreparable damage for the sake of your love affair. Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond will go to war over this, and because the kingdoms are so close knit White and Pink will follow. Do you want that, Peridot? Do you honestly want that?” Yellow Pearl then tried to squirm out of her restraints, but Lapis’ power was thankfully steadfast and held her in place. That was a relief.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” she responded simply before putting her hand on Yellow Pearl’s head, closing her eyes and murmuring another spell. Mere moments after, she felt the skin grow cold and hard underneath her hand and adopt a different texture; when she opened her eyes, the servant had been turned into a very angry stone statue, a venomous glare still present on her face. “I doubt you’d understand that, though. You’re like me. You’ve been in an oppressive society since you were born. You’ve been treated badly without even realizing it. But you’ve never had anything to break you out of it. Never had anything to make you realize that this is wrong. I pity you.”

With that, she turned to face Lapis, carefully taking hold of her lover’s hand and leading her out of the cell and through the dungeon to a place that could only be used as an exit, hidden away excessively from the outside by magic and brambles that scratched her body as she climbed out and into the night air. She breathed a breath of relief, pulling Lapis along with her as she began walking towards the woods. As soon as they made it there, they would be home free.

“Is she dead?” the princess asked quietly, running out of breath soon after they started running - something must have been done to her, and that made Peridot’s jaw clench in anger. She was tired. She needed rest, and the sorceress couldn’t wait until they could sleep peacefully in one another’s arms - just a little while longer. Her heart leapt for joy in her chest at that thought. The worst of it was over. Everything was going to be alright. After three years of hiding her emotions and living in fear, everything was going to turn out fine and she needn’t worry any longer.

“No,” she replied, and her tone of voice probably didn’t sound all that reassuring. She sounded smug, which she was, but not over turning Yellow Pearl into stone (okay, she was, but not as much as the other grand accomplishment of the night). “It only turned her skin into stone. Her organs should functioning properly and she’s probably fully conscious. In a lot of pain, but conscious and aware.”

“Is she stuck like that forever, or is she going to turn back?”

“I don’t know. I engineered that spell myself. They might have to figure out how to revert it.”

“... You don’t care, do you?”

“Not really.”

A small laugh from the princess caused the smile on Peridot’s face to brighten, and she found the her step had a little more pep as she continued onward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really am so sorry jesus h christ


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis and Peridot find the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a warning this chapter gets pretty suggestive at the end

Lapis was exhausted, but she wasn’t saying a word; Peridot could tell by the way she sagged and her breath became more labored the further they journeyed into the forest. They were just so tired after the ordeal that the night had brought, neither wanting anything more than some well deserved rest and relaxation. The younger of the two was beginning to get a bit annoyed by the fact that her lover wasn’t speaking up about needing rest and asking to stop; she wasn’t either, but Lapis’ experience had been a bit worse, so she was waiting on the older to mention a break and got both more concerned and more irritated the longer she went without.

Peridot lost her patience with her lover after two and a half miles, suddenly halting their journey and sitting down with the older girl, who collapsed so that she was lying facedown in the leaves and dirt. “You need rest,” she declared, not leaving any room in her stern tone for disagreements; she didn’t normally try to be authoritative because it was a bit outside her comfort level, but Lapis was stubborn and wouldn’t rest unless she was forced to. The princess groaned as if to argue, but cooperated nonetheless, which the sorceress was kind of smug about. She must have really been exhausted if she wasn’t popping up and declaring that she could keep going, though.

“I can keep going, we’ve only been walking for a little over an hour,” the royal protested in a vaguely whining tone, pulling herself up on her elbows and pouting at the younger girl. “Come on, Dot, we can’t stop now, we have to get to safety. I can keep walking, I promise.” Peridot had to glance away, the pleading look on her lover’s face making her feel a little guilty. She hated that Lapis could make her feel bad about insisting on taking a break for their own good.

“We’re already safe, there aren’t any guards around us. You’re practically dead standing, Lazuli. You really need to take a break, or getting there won’t be worth it because you’ll collapse and die on me right then and there.” She was joking for the most part; she didn’t really think Lapis would die from overexertion because she kept walking. But the princess’ injuries were taking a lot out of her, and Peridot had concerns about her working herself too hard. She wondered what the magic Yellow Pearl had used on her could do as far as lasting effects went; she hoped it wasn’t much, because she really didn’t want to lose her lover. Not after coming this far. Not when they were so close to being okay.

“Fine, but we need to keep walking in five minutes,” the older girl finally huffed, looking away and pouting. “About how many miles do we have to go until we make it to that cabin my mother told you about? We’d better be at least halfway, or taking this break was a shitty decision and a waste of time.”

“Would you stop berating me? I only stopped us because you’re exhausted,” Peridot did her best not to snap, fully aware that they were both exhausted and crabby because of that and not wanting to get into a fight already. They’d been through a lot over the course of the night, and she was too emotionally exhausted to deal with that. “There’s only about a half mile from the border from where we ran in, so I’d say we’re about two miles away from getting there, and we’ve been walking for two and a half. So yes, we’re more than halfway there. Now relax. We won’t be getting anywhere if you’re tired and angry.”

Lapis sighed heavily, but laid back down with a noise that could probably be translated as ‘fine.’ Tense silence then enveloped both of them, the sorceress massaging her sore calves in an attempt to avoid cramping. She tried using a soothing magic balm made from her herbs to treat some bruises beginning to form around her throat, but sighed heavily when she realized that having them scattered across the damp and dirty stone floor had broken their magical properties when the gunk got on them. Peridot was a bit annoyed by that and the tone the older girl had taken with her, and that probably aided in her inability to do what she’d been created for.

“... Sorry for being rude,” the princess finally spoke after several seconds of silence, and as soon as the apology was out in the air most of the tension in Peridot’s shoulders and in the atmosphere had faded away. Lapis moved forward to hug her tightly, and the sorceress returned the embrace willingly, resting her head on the naiad’s shoulder. “I’m just tired and I’m glad to finally be out of that dungeon. I just want to get to the cabin and leave all this behind. So we can finally get started on the part of our lives that’s actually going to be happy.”

“I forgive you, and I understand, but we can’t just go all the way there without resting. We’re both tired and injured, so that would be more harmful to our health than anything else.” Peridot sighed heavily, closing her eyes and giving the older girl a tight squeeze. She couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like when they weren’t constantly on the run or hiding, whether that be because of their love affair or because of a situation like this. “I’m only trying to do what’s best, I promise.”

Lapis sighed and nodded, and Peridot continued to hold her for a few more moments before finally getting to her feet and helping the princess up. They’d had a break and a conversation, and that was good enough for her; now, it was time to continue their journey and finally make their way to where nothing could hurt them for several more years. Rest had rejuvenated her excitement, and she was ready to continue walking for another hour or so.

* * *

 

The sun was rising, casting an orange and red glow across the trees which Peridot would have normally stopped to stare at in awe. The chirping of birds filled the early morning air, and a wave of peace washed over her, a welcome change from the fear and running of the night - she hadn’t slept in a couple of days, and now that the night was giving way to day, that became far more obvious through the heaviness of her eyelids and the leaden feeling of her limbs. She could only imagine how Lapis was feeling; the princess was slumped completely against her, the energy gained from their break completely forgotten by the exhausted pair.

The waves of the ocean were audible before they even reached the path, and the royal perked up immediately at the sound; the sorceress gave her a small and tired fond smile as she continued walking. Leaves gave way to soft dirt, leading them forward into an area where the trees stopped and gave way to a peaceful clearing; she couldn’t help but wonder how the trail had remained intact through the long and swaying grass surrounding it. Maybe it had been enchanted, or someone had come by beforehand in order to get everything ready. Either way, Peridot was too relieved and exhausted to care.

The cabin before them was small and cozy, ivy crawling up the dark wood of its exterior. Behind it was the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, the expanse of water expanding out as far as the eye could see. They were at the very edge of the tall forest, and very few other people knew exactly where this location was; that information was a relief to Peridot, who found her second wind and continued supporting Lapis until she reached the door.

Before she could open it, she watched as the wood aged before her eyes, gaping holes appearing across the outside of the cabin. Looking down at her hand, she watched as the skin turned sickly and pale again, as it had the previous times she saw herself as a human; glancing at Lapis, she saw crimson blood across the older girl’s shirt and neck that almost made her recoil, olive skin paled and raven hair covering her face. She was badly injured, and the sorceress was about to panic again, but before she could so much as cry out the princess’ skin turned light blue once more and her hair returned to its previous coloring, all blood gone from her body and a tired smile on her face.

Peridot would have liked to dwell on the memory longer, but she had something that she needed to do, and a nap that she needed to take. They had a long time to spend in this cabin together, after all, and she could always have a conversation with the older girl about these strange memories of a life long forgotten later. For now, she reached out and opened the unlocked door, allowing it to creak open and reveal a comfortable living room and kitchen, a fire enchanted to burn green and blue alight in the fireplace. Home. This felt like home, like safety and freedom and a soft voice saying “everything’s going to be okay.” It was good. It was overwhelming. Peridot wanted to cry, but she kept herself together, looking around and attempting to figure out which direction to go in to find a place to clean up. She wanted to rest, but Lapis hadn’t bathed since she was kidnapped, and she wanted to make sure her lover was completely comfortable before either of them slept.

Keeping most of the princess’ weight on her, she carefully held her up and walked further into the house, gently closing the front door behind her before opening some other doors. There was a hallway, a closet, a small area filled with books and scrolls that she was sure to take advantage of later, and - thank the creator for it - a bathroom, with a nice clawed tub and everything. Running water had been engineered for a long time as a result of the water naiads’ magic, and she hoped that the cabin hadn’t been around long enough that it was nonexistent. Turning the knob on the bathtub, she almost cried in relief when warm water came pouring into the porcelain.

The sorceress was gentle and careful in removing the princess’ tattered dress, watching her face carefully to ensure that she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries. When the older girl was sufficiently bare, she gently lowered her into the water, doing her best to not pay attention to the fact that Lapis was naked; Peridot was a bit frustrated with herself for even finding that difficult, with everything they had been through recently, and she supposed that hopefully it would get a little easier when she was in the tub as well and more focused on cleaning the both of them up.

It wasn’t. If anything, it was more challenging as she gently scrubbed the grime off her lover and the other did the same for her. She supposed she had to blame her tiredness or her youngness for making her so easily excited and flustered, a bright cyan blush spreading across her face that only worsened as the princess gently caressed her cheek.

“I see you staring,” Lapis murmured softly, gently running a hand down Peridot’s back - and while she was sure that it was for the purpose of removing excess dirt, she couldn’t help but blush deeply and stutter. “We’re both almost clean anyway, and we’re in a bathtub, so, uh…” the princess’ face turned a darker shade than the rest of her skin and she looked away; Peridot almost smirked, smug that she wasn’t the only one getting flustered here. “What do you say we have a little fun here to get rid of some stress, and  _ then _ we find a bedroom and get some sleep?”

Well, who could refuse  _ that _ offer? The sorceress was gentle in putting her hands on Lapis’ hips and connecting their lips in a deep kiss.

They’d been through a lot, after all. They deserved some relaxation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOO GEEZ THIS IS ALMOST DONE,,, only the epilogue to go!!! and then i'll start working on the prequel, which is gonna be about when the humans all died out. i'm gonna try and finish the first chapter so i can link it in the notes of the epilogue. thank you for reading!! xo


	16. Epilogue: Ten Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years later, Lapis and Peridot learn that they need to return to the kingdoms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOSH IT'S FINISHED!!! this is my personal favorite of my fanfics and i'm pumped for the prequel so i'm really excited that i've finished. link to prequel and playlist at the bottom.

Ten years had been kind. Ten years had been patient. For ten years, Lapis and Peridot were permitted to rest, to grow alongside each other. The princess had nightmares about captivity frequently at first, but because life was slow and things were good she had been allowed to recover. The sorceress’ magic grew stronger, and at first she was constantly afraid of making a mistake and being harshly punished for it, but her anxiety eased as the years went by. They were recovering, they were safe, and everything was alright - they were even planning to start a family in the near future, and had reason to believe that Lapis was pregnant based on the lack of moonsickness and some days of near constant nausea. By all means, everything was going well. They were at peace.

But that was before the news that Blue Diamond was dead reached them.

Lapis had been outside, tending to the flowers that grew in the garden behind their little cabin. A disturbance in the ocean beside the cliff caught her attention, and despite Peridot advising her near constantly to take it easy and not do anything terribly exhausting. But her intuition told her that she should investigate, and so investigate she did, summoning a tendril of water to the top of the cliff and using it to gently guide herself down and stand on the water.

A mermaid with her skin a dark blue and white hair spread around her in the water watched her with cautious yellow eyes. Lapis gave a kind smile and kneeled to look her in the eyes - though she hadn’t had contact with any of her subjects in ten years, she still knew how to act around them. “Hello,” she spoke softly and gently. “What business do you have coming here today?”

It wasn’t until after she spoke that she realized something must be happening. Something huge that the kingdoms would not require from in a while. Her mother had told her that she would only send someone to speak with her and Peridot in case of emergency or the death of Yellow Diamond; the princess hoped, prayed to the creators, that it was the ladder option. There was a heavy sickly feeling in her chest, however, that told her that the former was more likely; something had gone wrong in one of the kingdoms, and she was needed to return home and take care of it. She was afraid of the responsibility that would bring; she was afraid to return after so much time away. Would her people accept her after she ran into the woods and hid like a coward?

“Your mother is dead,” the mermaid said in a soft and scared voice, and Lapis felt her heart plummet in her chest. “You’re needed in the kingdom, highness. With no queen and no heiress to take her place, there’s word from the western kingdom that they’re going to stage a coup d’etat to merge the kingdoms. We need you to come and rule us and carry on your bloodline. Please.”

The naiad hesitated, more out of shock than anything else, before nodding slowly and rising to her feet. “I will return to the kingdom before tomorrow - please ensure that a coronation is prepared and in place. I will be there, and I will readily be crowned queen.” Her voice sounded a lot more confident than she herself felt, and she supposed she could appreciate that. It wouldn’t be a good sign if she was declaring her status as heiress and reclaiming her kingdom if she sounded really shaky about it. She hadn’t been taught how to run a kingdom, but she knew what her morals were, she knew to put her people first, and she knew that she would do her best.

The messenger nodded before slipping back under the waves and swimming in the direction of the kingdom. Lapis heaved a heavy sigh, her mind running a thousand miles a minute - of course ten years of being calm, of everything being under control, would come back to bite her in a terrifying way. She was about to gain rule of a kingdom with political tensions higher than the sky and the very real possibility of Yellow Diamond doing something drastic looming over her head. She kind of wished her mother had waited an extra few years before kicking the bucket.

A funeral to attend. A coronation to go through with. A kingdom to run. As Lapis used her powers to create a pillar to carry her back up to the cottage, she felt like she was going to be sick - and she had absolutely no clue how she was supposed to face anything that was being thrown at her so soon. Time, time, she wanted an extra ten years of rest - memories of being beaten and tortured flashed through her mind, and she shuddered, swallowing down a thick lump of tears in her throat.

Peridot was in the kitchen when she walked into the cottage, preparing some potion or another that she might have questioned the purpose of if she weren’t so filled with worry. Part of her was angry with herself for worrying more about going to rule a kingdom than on the fact that her mother was dead - shouldn’t she be a little bit more concerned that the woman who’d raised her no longer walked the earth? Understandably, though, a lot of pressure was placed on her head.

“What’s wrong?” her wife asked the moment she had taken a couple of steps inside. Lapis didn’t respond for a moment, opting to simply wrap her arms around the younger woman’s waist and lean her head on her upper back; she needed a moment to recoup and regather her thoughts before she could possibly explain. She knew that she wouldn’t take this well at all, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to explain why she was so afraid - perhaps she ought to stop thinking so hard, and just put all of her focus on doing what she needed to do. She wasn’t getting anywhere by worrying.

“We need to return to the kingdoms,” the heiress spoke in a shaky voice, relieved to be with someone who she didn’t need to pretend to be strong around. She was often surprised that Peridot still loved her after ten years of having nobody but each other for company, but she certainly would never complain about it; the younger woman was all she really needed in life, she supposed. “My mother is dead, and I need to take on the kingdom because I’m the only heiress and there’s a lot of political instability so we can’t afford to just wait around until Yellow Diamond dies as well - and the blue kingdom can’t just be left without a leader. We need to go home.”

The sorceress seemed to hesitate before turning around and gently wrapping her arms around the older woman with a deep sigh. “I wish this could have waited for a while,” Peridot spoke in a soft voice, gently squeezing Lapis in an attempt to soothe her. “But it is our responsibility to go back to the kingdom when we have to, not when it’s convenient for us. We should gather up anything important, take some time to prepare, and then leave as soon as possible.”

The princess nodded before breaking away and running a hand through her hair, which had grown long in the time she had spent in the cottage - she would need to cut it before they left. “I’ll need to do a few things myself to get ready to go and become queen.  I always assumed I would be a little older than twenty nine before inheriting the crown - my grandmother wasn’t crowned queen until she was forty, and her mother was thirty five.”

“Does this mean I should start referring to you as Blue Diamond now?” the sorceress asked with a small smile, clearly trying to lighten the mood a bit but only succeeding in making Lapis feel a little older and more overwhelmed - not that she would admit that. “Since, you know, you’re the queen of an ages old monarchy. Of course, you’re going to be the best one since the first! Because you’re  _ you, _ and I know you’re capable of doing great things. I’ve been married to you for ten years and in love with you for thirteen and you’ve never been anything but amazing, after all.”

“Ugh, no, I’m still going to be Lapis Lazuli. And I’m not going to name our daughters any of the traditional heiress names, either. I might be rising to become queen, but I’m getting rid of that policy - I’ve always thought it was really stupid.” Of course, that had been a tradition since the kingdoms were formed, and some might think she was going against the creators by making that decision and riot; but she was going to do her best, and she was going to dismantle traditions, laws, and policies that she didn’t think made sense. Maybe. She knew that other members of the royal family were dissatisfied, and she knew that some of her people were probably dissatisfied as well.

Would anybody even trust the decisions she made after she spent such a long time away from her kingdom? She certainly hoped so. She hadn’t had much of a choice, after all; if she had remained home, then Yellow Diamond would probably know that she had been plotted against for the benefit of another kingdom and attack, starting a war and potentially destroying the monarchy by murdering the queen and the heiress at the same time. Of course, thinking on that possibility only stressed her out, because she was the only one who would be able to inherit the monarchy and the bloodline would end with her if she didn’t pump some children out and send a few to safe places. Did she even have that kind of time before some sort of violence occurred and her life was put on the line? There was no other process to select a new leader in the kingdoms - she would probably need to put one in place in case of emergency. She wondered if any other queen had needed to think about whether or not her kingdom would be falling into anarchy following her possible imminent death.

“You’re getting that look when you overthink things again. You always tell me not to do it, so don’t you start.” Peridot scolded her lightly, gently pressing a kiss against her forehead that made her blush. “It’s all going to work out, okay? We’ll take everything a day at a time. We can even come up with some sort of game plan while we’re on the way there, and we can discuss what changes you want to make - we’re married, Lazuli, you don’t have to work things out alone.”

Lapis sighed heavily, but nodded with a small and grateful smile. “Right. And it isn’t like things are going to fall apart immediately after we arrive, right? We’ll have a  _ little _ bit of time - at the very least, any plans for a coup d’etat will need to be changed because my coronation is going to happen immediately.” She leaned completely on her wife, who gently squeezed her in a comforting manner. “And as long as I have you, I guess things can’t go  _ horribly _ badly.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, because you’ll always have me.” Peridot then broke apart the embrace, turning back to the stove. “I’m going to finish up this potion, it shouldn’t take very long. You should go do whatever you need to do before we leave, and then I’ll help you pack. And try to remember that everything’s going to be okay. I don’t think it would be a very good sign if you were to break down and have an anxiety attack the moment you step back into the castle.”

“Come on, give me some credit, I’m not some porcelain doll that’s going to have a breakdown under pressure.” Lapis stuck out her tongue, but did snatch a blade from the counter and walked to the bathroom door. “I’m going to cut my hair. Holler if you need anything.”

And with that, she closed the door, though she leaned against it with a heavy sigh moments later. Though she was somewhat reassured, she was still worried - but she supposed that she wouldn’t know for sure what was going to happen until she gave it a shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> playlist for this fic: https://play.spotify.com/user/teamchaosprez/playlist/3eQtb6QcYvLoyA0x9s1Wq6
> 
> prequel: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7660309/chapters/17442721

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment. It motivates me to continue regardless of the plan I have set out.


End file.
